Kodou
by Sugihara
Summary: I am currently rewriting this story and published it under the title Kodou new version now Desiderium, a Latin word which means "wish" or "longing" / "desire" in English .
1. Arrival

_Translation of the title is 'Heartbeat'._

Rating: PG-16 (for later chapters)

_Warnings: AU (this is fanfiction, so of course it is AU), Romance / Drama, Friendship, lime/lemon (in later chapters, on request)... I will put more to this, but I still need to get there._

Dedication: This is dedicated to a friend of mine who is responsible for me having the idea for this in the first place.

_Disclaimer: I still don't own anything related to Final Fantasy VII (except some merchandising here...), all of that belongs to Square Enix. The plot is mine, though. And my original characters, too. I don't make profit with this one except maybe a few comments._

Author's note: This started out as a German story that was translated into English and then changed a little bit (and edited a few times). Final version may still take a while. I am just editing the first chapters while already working on the next one. I hope you enjoy it. :)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Arrival_

There was only one thing Naomi knew for sure when she woke up. Every single bone in her body was aching like hell. This not being enough, Take, Shin and Tatsu seemed to have agreed on playing an entire drum concert in her head. Receiving plenty of help by the group Yamato. She would just give about anything to get back to sleep or at least lose consciousness. She didn't want to endure this terrible pain longer than she absolutely had to... but exactly this made it simply impossible.

For quite some time she just lay still and tried to concentrate on her breathing. The pain lessened eventually. It didn't disappear, though, but at least ceased a considerable amount. Now she was able to focus her thoughts a little.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she finally opened her eyes and blinked. It was dark around her. Either it was in the middle of the night or someone had done his job in shutting out the light properly. Pursuing the thought further could prove kind of disconcerting, so she actually dropped it. With her sense of time she couldn't be sure anyway. She didn't even know how long she had been sleeping.

It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the lighting conditions. As far as she could see the blinds were open, so it was night time. A faint ray of light fell through a rather large window right beside her, though she couldn't really tell if it was a street lamp or moonlight. She turned her head a little to overview the sparsely furnished room she was in.

On the opposite to the window was a door with a small cabinet with a TV on top right beside it – all of this looked quite old-fashioned. She made out a wardrobe which had definitely seen better days, a table with two chairs and the bed she was occupying.

Naomi blinked again and propped herself up on her elbows, just to take a better look around. There was nothing else to see, though. There were no pictures, flowers or other personal things. How anyone could live like this was beyond her. If anyone did, anyway. She doubted this. The room gave the impression of being uninhabited thus cold.

She let herself sink back onto the cushion and closed her eyes. Her hands began to quiver slightly and she felt a bead of sweat trickle down her right temple.

Where on Earth was she? She definitely had to be in a stranger's apartment. She was pretty sure about this. She didn't know anyone who lived this minimalistic. Sure, her ex Shinya didn't have that much more furniture in his apartment, but even that guy had some personal items like photos, for example... and at his place she at least had the feeling that someone actually _lived_ there despite him being away quite often.

So... if she really was in a stranger's apartment like she guessed... that would leave the question of how the heck she got there. To be honest – she didn't know what she'd done last or where she'd been before waking up here. She could remember a lot of things and places. Right now she just wasn't able to bring them into a correct chronological order. The more she tried the more it confused her.

The young woman sighed heavily. If she wanted to find out where she was she only had two options; either she just got up and tried looking outside this room... or she stayed here to wait for someone who took pity on her by actually showing up.

Waiting was completely out of question right now. On one hand, she really wasn't the Queen of Patience (more of the opposite, actually). It was also possible that no one would come here at all, or at least for a long time. And she just couldn't have that. She would probably die of thirst before that. This thought was anything but appealing. On the other hand... she felt rather hungry. So it was better to get up and look around. She hoped to get out of here or she wouldn't get anything to eat... not to talk about the fact that she really needed a long, hot shower.

Naomi ran a hand through her shoulder-length bright pink coloured hair. Somehow, this seemed quite irrational on the whole. Of course, something similar had happened to her before. At least the waking up in an unfamliar room part wasn't new to her. But usually that had happened after drinking pretty much the night before and then she'd stayed at a friend's place. Even though she'd been quite shocked at some point – she'd never forget waking up in Kôji's apartment after drinking with him and Yûichi, discovering her colleagues had coloured her hair pink in the process. Admittedly, she'd never been as confused as she was now. Besides, she definitely wasn't hung over or she would feel different. And she definitely couldn't remember getting near any alcohol for some time.

Slowly and carefully she sat up. Her arms and legs felt like lead. Then she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. As soon as they touched the cool wooden ground she heard a key being put into a lock nearby and then turned. A door was opened and then closed again. Footsteps were to be heard on the other side of the door she threw a bemused glance at.

Before she had the chance to do anything – or even think about it, for that matter – the door latch moved. She began to shiver from head to toe and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't know if she was just nervous or simply freezing. Maybe both.

Someone pushed the door open and light flooded the room. Blinded, Naomi closed her eyes and blinked as she lifted her hand to protect her eyes. As soon as she was able to distinguish her surroundings again she squinted at the door frame and winced. What she saw was the most bizarre appearance she'd ever seen – not even one of her friends in his most eccentric costume could compete.

The figure was about 6" and thus as tall as her ex-boyfriend Markus. He had long black hair, wore a red bandanna and a long and torn red cape with several buckles. Along with this came black leather clothes – also with some belts and buckles – and black leather boots with bronze covering. Instead of his left arm there was a bronze claw. He had a holster at his right hip, holding a rather large weapon. But the most unusual about him were his gleaming red eyes. She'd never seen anything like that before.

For a few moments they both observed each other in silence. The young woman gulped heavily and just couldn't bring herself to say something. Or move. A small voice in her head whispered that she should draw back. But there was nowhere to retreat to anyway, was there?

"How do you feel?" her opponent asked after a while. He had a calm, deep and rather pleasant voice.

Naomi blinked in surprise. She didn't know what she expected... but surely not him asking for her well-being. "I..." She stopped and bit her lower lip. How _did_ she feel, actually? She was freezing like hell, she was confused beyond imagination, thirsty and hungry (no surprise there since she couldn't even remember when she'd last eaten something, and that was definitely a first)... and all her limbs hurt. There were even parts of her body aching which she never knew of being able to. However, she didn't really know how to express that. This fact confused her even more. She's always had the gift of gab, why on Earth did she suddenly fail to find the right words? That was another first.

It seemed like the stranger didn't really expect a reply. Without a word he closed the door and switched on the light. He went over to the wardrobe to take some dark trousers as well as a black sweater out which he handed over to her. Then he turned away and looked out of the window.

Now she finally looked down at herself and actually realized that she merely wore her undergarments and a shirt that was way too large. What happened to her own clothes? And _why_ was it that she hadn't realized she was barely wearing anything?

Her cheeks were bright red as she put on the trousers and the sweater – of course, both were too big for her since it was his stuff – then she sat back down on the bed. She wanted to thank him but somehow no words escaped her lips.

He turned back to her and examined her for a few seconds. "You're lucky, actually," he finally stated.

Naomi shot him a questioning look. To wake up in the apartment of a man she'd never seen before – almost undressed, at that – and who was armed... without even knowing how she got here... that was definitely not her idea of 'being lucky'.

"If I hadn't found you and brought you here, you'd most probably be dead by now." He leaned against the window sill and folded his arms. "You've had a really bad fever for the past four days," he continued when she didn't say anything in return.

Her jaw dropped. "Four days have I been here already?" she squealed, aghast. "Damn! Rikuo will _kill_ me!" Immediately, she hopped off the bed but regretted it on the spot since the sudden movement made her feel dizzy. Moaning, she let herself fall back onto the bed, put her elbows on her knees and delved her fingers in her hair.

The stranger sat down beside her. "You should be careful, I guess you still have a fever. You should better lie down."

"I can't!" she replied with a frustrated sigh. She tilted her head and watched him intently. "It will be tough luck if I still have my job. Maybe I can even forget about my scholarship. This is already the second time I'm absent without giving word."

"If you kill yourself, you won't need your job anymore," he retorted calmly. "You're sick, you need rest. I don't know this Rikuo guy but he won't expect you to needlessly endanger yourself for your job."

"You don't have the faintest idea," Naomi muttered under her breath and ran both her hands through her hair. "Where am I, anyway?" she asked him quietly. "And where's my stuff? At the very least I should call the studio and tell them I'm sick. The others are surely worried about me..."

For a moment he gave her a blank stare. "You're in Edge. I gave your stuff to an acquaintance of mine, she offered to clean and repair it. She will be back in a few hours to return it to you."

"Damn!" she hissed and her head drooped. "Where is this... Edge, anyway?" she wanted to know. "Never even heard of it."

"Edge of Midgar." He raised an eyebrow.

"Edge of what?" she asked in confusion and looked at him, irritation evident on her face.

Now he furrowed his brow. "The city grew at the edge of the former capital Midgar after most of it being destroyed by Meteor, thus the name. But everyone knows, so should you."

She leaned back a little and shot him a disbelieving look. "When did they rename Tokyo to Midgard? You've got to be kidding me. The former capital is still Kyoto, by the way. And Midgard actually only exists in an old Nordic saga."

Now it was his turn to look confused. "Midgar has always been Midgar. And it has been the capital for a long time. Until about four years ago. I don't know any Tokyo or Kyoto. Where is that supposed to be?"

Naomi gave a mirthless laugh. "Tokyo is the capital of Japan, what else? It has been for about 200 years now. Anyway, I'm living, studying and working there since I moved there with my best friend two years ago," she replied. "Everyone knows about Tokyo, even if they've never been there." She pouted. "It is the most expensive town and even the safest metropolis on Earth, after all. Of course, people know about Kyoto, too. At least, they've heard about it. And the Nordic saga about Midgard and stuff is also quite popular."

The stranger watched her for a short while. "You're having a fever, you're fantasizing," he muttered. "There is no Tokyo, no Kyoto and no Japan. The only metropolis that ever existed on this continent is Midgar. Without a D at the end."

"You're lying," she spat at him. "Of course it exists, how am I supposed to live there, if it didn't? You don't want to tell me that I've been imagining all of that!"

He sighed and got up. "I don't want to 'tell' you anything, I'm just telling the truth. This Japan doesn't exist. Maybe it is because of the fever. Or some drugs."

"I don't do drugs!" she retorted appalled.

"Maybe not voluntarily or knowingly... but how sure can you be about no one putting something into your food?" He went over to the door and laid his hand onto the handle. He gave her an undefinable stare over his shoulder. "I'm going to get you some food, I'm sure you're hungry." With those words he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Stunned, Naomi scowled after him. Where on Earth was she? And how the _hell_ did she get here? This was probably just a nightmare, there was no other way to explain it. How could this strange guy claim that her life had been a lie? Of course Japan did exist! She couldn't just have been imagining it.

As soon as she got her clothes back she would call Yûichi and ask him if he could fetch her. All she wanted was to get home. She pulled her legs up to her chest and embraced them, resting her head on her knees. Something was definitely going wrong here, though she didn't now exactly what.

How could this be happening? This couldn't be! If what this guy told her was true – and she fervently hoped that it wasn't – what about Luca? Yûichi? Shinya? Did that mean they didn't exist, too? Should it be possible that also Kôji and Markus were just figments of her imagination? Her parents? Her brother René?

This thought was too much for her to take... Naomi let herself fall onto her side, buried her face in the pillow and broke into tears. 'God,' she thought desperately. 'Please, let this be just a nightmare. Please, let me wake up in my apartment in Tokyo.'

For some time, she sobbed into the pillow and soon fell asleep. She didn't even notice the stranger as he entered the room quietly and brought her the promised food. He watched her sad face for a while, contemplating their discussion earlier. His thoughts didn't show on his face, though. Then he left the room just as quiet.

* * *

**A/N**: Freshly edited. A little.


	2. Confusion

_**A/N**: Still editing and looking for mistakes, but mostly done. _

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Confusion_

When she woke up the next time she felt a little better. Though now she had a major headache. She was kind of afraid to open her eyes. What if her surroundings were still the same as before? If she still wasn't in her own bedroom? Or at one of her friend's places?

"Thank Gaia, her fever is finally getting better," she heard a female voice she didn't recognize. Naomi let out an inaudible sigh. A dull feeling of resignation got hold of her. This was proof that the incident with that stranger wasn't a mere dream but reality. Or was she still dreaming? She didn't know.

"She was saying some strange things," the deep voice of the dark haired guy from last night answered. "Something about a city named Tokyo where she's supposed to live."

The woman sighed. "I understand that she is quite confused. But that may change. I'm more interested in how she happened to be in that ruin where you found her."

Tears welled up in Naomi's eyes. She tried hard not to let them flow. Crying wouldn't help her at all. Damn it, she hadn't talked nonsense! Of course she told him the truth!

"If she doesn't change her mind about what she said," the man replied flatly, "I don't think we will ever find out. She probably doesn't even remember being there at all."

A feeble croak escaped Naomi's throat which she couldn't suppress by any means. Why did something like this happen to her? She just didn't get it. If this was real she would possibly never see Luca, Kôji and the others again. Ever.

She heard footsteps before someone sat down beside her. She opened her eyes and wiped away a few stray tears which had escaped despite her trying to hold them back. Typical sounds of a busy main road floated through the now open window. A beautiful young woman with long dark brown hair and eyes with the same colour sat beside her and gave her a worried look. "How do you feel?"

Naomi snorted. A bitter smile showed on her face. "Like crap. But thanks for asking anyway," she muttered.

The woman put a pink strand out of her face. "Are you in pain?" The concern that showed on her face seemed to be genuine.

"Well... my head feels like a huge biker gang is throwing one hell of a party there. Other than that... not that much anymore. Was worse before." Again, she wiped a tear off her cheek.

The raven haired man had listened to them without saying anything. Now he turned and left the room, still silent.

Naomi carefully sat up and watched him retreat, a frown apparent on her face.

"I guess he'll get a pain killer for you. And probably some food," the brunette explained. She smiled before she became serious once more. "Both of us have been really worried about you. At first, we weren't sure if you'd make it. But the worst is over. I think it won't take too long for you to recover completely now."

The music student gave her a doubtful look. "That won't take me home," she said quietly. "Besides... I can't imagine him," she continued with a gesture at the door, "being actually worried about me."

To her surprise the woman just smiled. "He may not show it but he was really worried. He didn't leave your side for four whole days. Not until we were sure you would make it somehow. You shouldn't let his uninvolved behaviour deceive you."

Naomi wasn't truly convinced but for now she thought she would have to believe the brunette telling her the truth. With her headache she wasn't able to think straight anyway. And since she didn't know those people at all she wasn't one to judge.

After only a few minutes the door opened and the dark haired guy returned, actually bringing with him a tray. "Do you think you can get up?" the brunette asked as she stood to take the tray from the man.

Without further ado Naomi hopped out of bed and traipsed to the table. The woman put the tray down and the pink haired guitarist immediately occupied the chair closest to her.

The brunette sat down as well while the man leaned onto the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh," Naomi muttered and wanted to get up again but he just shook his head. She looked down sheepishly. "I am sorry for being such a burden to you... and now I'm also taking your seat," she whispered.

"It's okay. You're a guest," he replied simply.

Since she didn't know what else to say she pulled the tray towards her. There was a pill on it and a glass of water. Then there was a bowl with... "Soup?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at the brunette sitting opposite her. Who on Earth was supposed to get full just because of a little bit of stock?

The brunette furrowed her brow. "You haven't eaten or drunk for days. If you got anything else right now you'd only get an upset stomach," she explained.

Naomi had to admit that this made sense. She decided against telling her that nothing except putrid food could harm her stomach at all. It would have been quite impudent to complain after they took care of her, which she was grateful for. So she just clapped her hands and bowed slightly. "Itadakimasu!" she said before taking the bowl and drinking a little bit of the soup. It was really tasty. It didn't take very long for her to drain it completely.

The strangers exchanged a look which she totally ignored. It was way too good to finally have some sort of nourishment again. She put the bowl away, took the pill and drained it with some water. Then she clapped her hands again, with another slight bow. "Gochisou-sama deshita!"

The brunette gave her a confused look. She obviously wanted to say something but apparently she changed her mind. She stood up and took the tray away.

"Are you feeling better?" the man asked quietly.

Naomi stretched contentedly and crossed her arms behind her head. "Actually, yes," she replied. "Nothing like good food to improve my mood." Luckily the sould had been quite satiating, despite her misgivings. And the pain killer was also helping.

Now the brunette returned to them. "Did you like it?" she asked the young guitarist as she sat on the chair again.

Naomi nodded and took her arms down. "It was really tasty, thank you." She cocked her head and looked from the woman to the man and back again. "Who are you, anyway? What I want to say is... I can't call you by ›hey‹ or ›you‹ all the time, can I."

The brunette's eyes widened. "I'm sorry... I am Tifa Lockheart and this is Vincent Valentine. It's surprising that there are still people around who don't already know who we are..."

Naomi shrugged. "Well, I didn't, since I'm not from here." She threw a threatening look at Vincent. Then she indicated a bow. "My name is Naomi Crescent."

After this an oppressive silence followed as Tifa and Vincent just watched her in stunned disbelief. A few seconds later the black haired guy pushed himself off the wall and left the room without so much as saying anything.

Tifa slapped her forehead with a sigh. Naomi gave her an irritated look. "What... did I say something wrong?"

The brunette shook her head and glanced at the window, a thoughtful look on her face as they heard the door being slammed shut. "No..." she said quietly. "It is just... well..." She took a deep breath and watched the musician with interest. "What are your parent's names?" she wanted to know.

"Huh?" Now Naomi was really confused. "Marc and Sara Crescent... why?" She suddenly leaned foward. "Do you happen to know them? Could it be they're here, too? Does that mean they...?" She cut herself off in the middle of the sentence and shook her head. "No... that can't be... it's impossible..."

Tifa questioningly raised an eyebrow. "Why... what about your parents?"

The student sighed. "Almost three years ago... my parents died in a traffic accident... just like my little brother..." She hid her face in her hands and rested her elbows on the table. "I rather hoped..." she muttered, "that they could still be alive if they were really here... but I saw pictures of that accident... and I had to identify their bodies... so there's no way for them to be here, is it..." Naomi took her hands down and wiped some tears from her cheeks. "After all... this is not life after death, am I right?"

Tifa gave her a pitying look. "I am so sorry about that..." she said quietly and bracingly laid a hand on Naomi's arm.

The pink haired woman sniffed. "But what about him?" she asked with a brittle voice. She took the handkerchief Tifa handed her with a thankful nod and blew her nose as quiet as possible. "Did I do something to him?"

"No." Tifa shook her head. "But... a long time ago Vincent lost the one who was most important to him... and he still seems to blame himself for not having been able to rescue her... I don't know, maybe you know her... her name was Dr. Lucrecia Crescent."

Naomi looked at her and her eyes widened. Now she could understand his reaction a little... but actually, not really. She wasn't to blame for her name and she didn't even know that Lucrecia chick. "I really don't know her, never even came across her name. Who was she? Was she a doctor or something like that?"

"She was a scientist," the brunette replied. "And Vincent used to be her bodyguard. Eventually, she married Professor Hojo and let him do experiments with her body and her still unborn child."

The guitarist screwed her face up in disgust as she leaned forward. "So you're saying that she's had an affair with her bodyguard, though she was married to that professor?" she asked in disbelief. "So... was it Vincent's child?"

Tifa sighed. "No. They used to be a couple once... I don't know why she married this professor later on... Vincent doesn't talk about it. But as far as I know it was Hojo's son... at least, he claimed him and Vincent never objected," she replied. She played with a strand of her dark hair, seemingly lost in thought. "Vincent was against this experiment but he wasn't able to stop them... and finally, he ended up as one of their experiments as well. You've seen the result... at least, part of it."

"But... that is..." Naomi stammered. She honestly didn't know what to think about this. "So, what you're telling me is... he owes her his looks?" she mumbled. "I don't want to know what they did to him," she said quickly as Tifa wanted to say something in reply. "I really am quite fancyful, maybe too much so, but I don't think that I could imagine that even rudimentally."

"I doubt you can," a deep male voice sounded from the door and both women jerked. While they'd been talking they hadn't noticed Vincent coming back.

The raven haired man walked over to them and laid some clothes onto the table which Naomi instantly recognized as her own. Then he put her purse beside them.

The music student rummaged in her purse and triumphantly got her cigarette pack out. She took a cigarette and wanted to light it but stopped, remembering her manners and the fact that she wasn't at home. "May I?"

He made a gesture that said she should help herself but she turned to the window. Luckily there was a balcony which she hadn't noticed before. She stood up, opened the French window and stepped out into the fresh air. She took a deep breath and then finally lit her cigarette. After the first drag she became slightly dizzy but she didn't care one bit.

Tifa followed her outside and looked at her, disbelief etched on her face. "Ain't smoking unhealthy?"

Naomi just shrugged. "Who cares?" she said nonchalantly. "Someday, I will have to die anyway." She ran a hand through her hair. "Besides... if you take all of that stuff too seriously... you're not supposed to eat anything you want to or even cross the street. Thinking about emissions, maybe you shouldn't even breathe."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's supposed to be unhealthy about food?" she wanted to know.

Sighing, Naomi turned to face her. "Considering all those bacteria, BSE and swine fever... in addition to salmonellae and I don't know what else... one shouldn't think too much about that, as well as genetic engineering and stuff like that. That could ruin everything." She took another drag. "If I think too much about it, then this could even spoil _my_ appetite. And that's definitely saying something."

The brunette watched her in confusion. "What in Gaia's name are salmonellae? Or BSE?"

Naomi furrowed her brow. Where the hell had she ended up? She forebore from asking why Tifa didn't know what she was talking about. Supposedly, Tokyo didn't exist... She sighed again.

Finally, Vincent joined them. He gave them a taletelling look, first Tifa then the guitarist. He refrained from saying anything.

The young musician returned his gaze just as silent and then grumpily turned away from him before taking a last drag from her cigarette which she heedlessly flipped over the rail. Finally, she returned inside and took her purse to check the contents.

Her cigarettes, lighter and keys were still there, as well as her cell phone and her wallet. She also found her passport. As she opened it she uttered a trimphant cry. "Ha!" She opened her wallet and scattered her bills and coins all over the table.

Curiously, Tifa joined her. "What is it?"

"Look!" Naomi said and showed her the money and the passport. "This is Japanese money and see what's written in my passport? There's also my visa that I'm allowed to live, study and work in Japan!" Glad to finally have some proof at hand she leaned back. Now no one could claim that she was phantasizing anymore.

Tifa looked at the stuff and furrowed her brow. She didn't know what to say. She'd never seen this kind of money or a passport like this in her whole life. Actually, this kind of stuff didn't exist here. "This sure is strange..." she muttered after some time.

Vincent stood by the French window and watched them, a brow furrowed, though his face didn't betray any emotion. He wasn't sure what to think about this. Either, Naomi lied to them – though he couldn't imagine her doing so since she didn't give the impression – or someone played a damn bad trick on them... Maybe he should return to the ruin where he found her and take a better look around. It was possible that he'd find some clues he missed before...

* * *

_**A/N**: So, I hope that all will work out like I hope to._


	3. 7th Heaven

_**A/N**: Still working on other stuff as well... but this goes on faster for now. Hope you still like it._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_7th Heaven_

Swearing loudly, Naomi threw her cell phone onto the small table – hard enough that the display cracked a little. This fact wormed some more imprecations out of her. For the past three days she had been trying to call someone. Three whole days she'd been spending on dialling every phone number she could think of. What she heard had always been the same – nothing.

"Now, this kind of slanguage is not supposed to come from a young lady," a deep voice said dryly behind her.

Flinching she turned around. "Vincent!" she exclaimed. "Do you always have to sneak up on someone? You almost scared me to death!"

The raven haired guy stepped up to her, despite his heavy boots he was barely making any sound. "I don't sneak," was the short reply.

She raised an eyebrow at that but refrained from responding. She knew that this would be a futile attempt. Though she hadn't been here for a long time, there was one thing she'd learned – trying to discuss with Vincent was rarely effective and it was taxing her short amount of patience pretty much.

"Who taught you all those swear words, anyway?" he wanted to know as he sat down at the table. His voice was flat and unconcerned but this was misleading. He would never take the trouble to ask if he really didn't give a damn. His gaze was fixed on her face - one of the very few indications that he actually took notice of other people. Though sometimes it made her feel a little bit uncomfortable to be stared at like that.

Naomi shrugged. "Some I've got from my friends, some others I've heard here and there..." she answered with a vague gesture. "But my best 'teacher' was my ex-boyfriend." She grinned widely. "Believe me, even you don't want to listen to him when he's in a bad mood."

Vincent knitted his brows. "He can't be much worse than Cid," he replied quietly. "I'm used to some stuff coming from him or Barret."

With a sigh she ran both hands through her hair. Tifa had told her that Cid was a pilot and that both him and this Barret guy were good friends of theirs. Somehow it bothered her that she didn't know much about this place and the people. On one hand she looked forward to change that fact but on the other hand she didn't want to give up hope to get home. She bobbed her head up and her neck grinded unpleasantly. "Can I borrow your phone for a moment?"

For some seconds he considered her, motionless. "Why?" he finally wanted to know before he got his PHS out of his pocket and handed it over.

The student took it and grabbed her own cell phone at the same time. "Because mine seems to be broken," she retorted absentmindedly while searching for a number which she typed into Vincent's phone. She put it to her ear and listened for some time.

"The number you've dialled is not existent."

Naomi screwed her face up in annoyment as she heard the excessive female voice. She tried a different number and then a third one but every time it was the same. Grumbling she closed the connection and returned the phone to Vincent. "Thanks," she muttered.

The raven haired guy watched her, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. "Right now one can get the impression that you'd really be able to compete with Cid or Reno, considering your choice of words."

She looked at him, an irritated expression on her face. Did he try to make fun of her? That couldn't be! Him? Somehow she couldn't imagine that. This man actually did seem to have a sense of humor. A grin spread on her face. "If you say so!"

His nod was barely noticeable. "Have you still not gotten through to anyone?"

She grimaced. "Obviously not... I can't use my phone here at all and when I try yours the dialled numbers are non-existent!" she snarled. "Something is definitely wrong here!"

Without saying anything he stood up and reached his hand out to her.

Naomi blinked and looked up to him. She didn't know what he wanted but she didn't assume that it was something bad, so she laid her hand into his. "What is it?"

He still didn't say a word as he pulled her up from the chair and went to the door.

"Where are we going?" she wanted to know as she stopped, making him stop, too, and turn to face her.

"Surely, you are hungry?" he finally replied. "I'm not good at cooking, like Tifa is, and it is not doing you any good if you sit around in my apartment the whole day, moping."

She held up her free hand since he didn't let go of the other one. "You want to treat me to lunch?" she asked, aghast. "I can't possibly accept that!"

"And how are you going to pay for yourself?" he replied dryly.

"Erm..." She gave him an appalled look. "But I can't always..."

Vincent shook his head with a sigh. "Right now you don't have much of a choice, do you," he said calmly. "Unless you prefer to starve."

"No!" she answered in horror.

A slightly amused smile played around his mouth. "I thought so." He opened the door to his apartment and dragged the guitarist along. "Let's go, then."

Completely bewildered she followed him out of the apartment and onto the street. This was the first time she actually left the house ever since she was here. Unerringly he led her through the streets until they stopped in front of a relatively small building. _7th Heaven_ was written on the sign at the door.

Confused she tilted her head. She definitely heard that name before. But before she could even think about it Vincent laid his human hand onto her back as he opened the door and then pushed her inside.

Naomi looked around in interest and it kind of was reminiscent of the _Starbucks_ where she used to work once. Though there were wooden chairs and tables and the milk foaming machine was missing, too. But it wasn't the interior which reminded her of the coffee shop but the atmosphere.

She let her gaze wander about and it fell onto a young blond man who stood by the counter and turned around to face them. For a short moment she felt like her heart was skipping a beat or two. But as she watched his face and particularly his stunning blue eyes she registered that it wasn't Shinya – couldn't be him – and relaxed.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked quietly, having noticed her short tension.

The young musician took a deep breath and nodded. This wasn't Shinya. The vocalist wasn't here. Besides, it had been quite some time since he changed his bleached hair back to his original color. She felt a lump in her throat and gulped heavily.

They went over to the counter as she constantly watched the blonde out of the corner of her eye. If she looked closely he didn't bear any resemblance to Shinya at all.

"Hey Vincent," the blonde greeted. "Long time no see! How are you doing?"

The dark haired guy nodded. "How's business going?"

"Great. I took a day off to help Tifa and look after the children." He watched Naomi curiously who felt a little out of place.

Vincent laid a hand onto her shoulder. "This is Naomi Crescent... and this is Cloud Strife," he introduced them.

"Crescent?" Cloud asked in irritation as he shook her hand. "Surely not...?"

"No," Vincent replied. "They aren't related in any way."

Cloud pursed his lips. "Your girlfriend?"

Tifa chose this moment to enter the room through the back door and this distracted her from replying to this out-of-place-question.

A smile spread on the brunette's face as she went over to them. "Hey," she said and nodded to Vincent, then embraced the student. "How are you feeling?" She put a hand onto her forehead. "Your fever's gone," she said in delight.

"My nerves are strained at times but other than that I'm feeling great," Naomi grinned at her.

Tifa raised an eyebrow and gave Vincent an inflictive stare. Then she turned back to the pink haired woman. "What can I do for you?"

"Naomi needs food," Vincent said dyly.

This made Naomi scowl a little. "I'm not a pet," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Why don't they ever learn that?"

Cloud looked from Naomi over Tifa to Vincent, irritation apparent on his face. "Seems like I've missed something."

Tifa turned to him. "You haven't been here for a while," she replied simply before she went over to the back door. Then she stopped for a short moment. "What do you want to eat?" she asked Naomi.

She just shrugged. "Just something... whatever... maybe something simple that doesn't take long."

The brunette smiled and disappeared through the door. After a few seconds the door was opened again and Tifa peeked into the room. "Would you like to help me?"

Naomi gave her a horrified look. "Are you crazy? If you want to keep your kitchen in the state it is in you shouldn't risk that and keep me as far away as possible!"

Tifa watched her unbelievingly but shrugged and closed the door behind her.

Sighing the guitarist sank onto a chair. She rested her elbows on the table and grabbed her pink colored hair. "I really am completely useless," she said depressedly.

Vincent sat down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't say that," he said quietly.

"Why not?" she retorted bitterly. "After all those things you did for me... without knowing me at all... and I can't do anything that would help in any way..." She took her hands down and looked at him in despair. "I'm not street-smart and I can't use my money for anything... I've lost my job, I can't call my friends and colleagues... I can't go home... so in general everything is just – well, it sucks."

Vincent didn't know what to say in return. He watched her for some time, his face didn't betray his thoughts. "It's not your fault," he finally stated.

Naomi snorted. "Yeah... and I can't change it, either..." She ran a hand through her hair, then sighed again and put her head back.

Now Cloud joined them at the table after having listened to them silently. It was more than obvious that this woman was less than pleased with her current situation.

The creak of the door and fast light footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Cloud is back again!" A brown haired boy called out in pleasure and hopped onto the blonde's lap who smiled and tousled his hair.

"Where is Tifa?" a girl that followed the boy asked as she stopped between Vincent and Naomi who had laid a hand over her eyes. The little girl watched her in surprise.

"Tifa's in the kitchen, Marlene," Cloud retorted. "And this is Naomi."

"Are you okay, Onee-chan?" Marlene asked carefully.

"Huh?" The guitarist put her hand down and turned to the girl. She nodded with a small smile. Finally she looked up to Vincent. "Where's the washroom?" she wanted to know.

"Through the door on the right hand side," he answered.

As Naomi stood up Marlene took her hand. "I'll show you," she said helpfully.

The pink haired musician couldn't suppress a smile and followed the girl.

After opening the door they met Tifa half way, carrying two large plates. "Where are you going? Lunch is ready."

"I will show Onee-chan where she can find the washroom," Marlene retorted seriously.

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll put your lunch onto the table. Do you want to eat something too, Marlene?"

The little girl nodded avidly. "Denzel will be hungry too!" she said then led Naomi to the washroom.


	4. Mistake

_**A/N**: Fine... since there are some people who seem to like this story and were kind enough to review... I think there is no better thanks to that than an update. :)_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Mistake_

The afternoon went by and people entered and left the bar. Tifa was quite busy to serve the customers, so there was not much time for her to talk to Cloud, Vincent and Naomi.

About an hour ago Denzel and Marlene had left to play with some other children.

Cloud and Vincent were talking about some stuff Naomi didn't have a notion of. At first, she had listened avidly but after some time she'd lost interest in it. She was bored and watched the people sitting at the other tables until she couldn't take it anymore. Even though she highly enjoyed listening to Vincent's voice it wasn't pleasant enough to listen to if she couldn't make anything out of what he said.

Sighing she stood up and went over to the counter where Tifa was mixing some drinks. She was rather hoping that she could help the brunette somehow. On one hand she wanted to pay her back for her help and on the other hand she was really bored.

At first, Tifa declined her help friendly, saying that she was managing herself. But after discussing for a short while she finally agreed. Naomi could be pretty persuasive if she set her mind to something.

Since she didn't know where everything was Naomi started with collecting empty glasses and plates to wash them. While doing so she took the opportunity to try and memorize the contents of the drawers and cupboards. Whenever possible she watched Tifa when she mixed and asked for the names of those drinks. After some time she was able to switch to serving the customers, leaving the cash to the brunette for she didn't know much about the prices and the local currency.

About two or three hours later the bar was halfway voided, only five of thirteen tables were occupied and one customer was at the counter.

Naomi was busy with cleaning as Tifa laid a hand on her shoulder. Not having anticipated this the student jumped before turning around.

"Well," Tifa started, "I've just had an idea. What would you think about helping out more often?"

The pink haired woman raised her eyebrows. "You want me to work here?"

Tifa shrugged. "Only if you want to," she replied. "But I think this would be a good solution, wouldn't it. If you work here you can earn some money and you're able to socialize here. Besides, sometimes I could really do with a little help here."

After thinking about this for some seconds a bright smile came to Naomi's lips. "Sure!" she said. "Plus I won't feel so useless anymore," she silently added after a short pause.

The brunette gave her a pitying look and hugged her.

Right at this moment Cloud stepped up to the counter and cleared his throat to get their attention. Naomi disengaged herself from the other woman before both of them turned around to face him.

"Can I do something for you?" Tifa wanted to know.

The blonde shook his head lightly. "I just wanted to let you know that Vincent and I decided to go to this ruin to have a quite thorough look around. Maybe we can find some leads on how we will be able to solve Naomi's... problem."

For a short while Tifa watched him in confusion then she threw a look in Vincent's direction before she nodded. "Okay, but be careful."

"Of course, we're always careful," Cloud replied smiling benignly, earning an incredulous snort from the brunette. "We will return alive. What can happen in a simple house, even if it is not in order?" With those words he returned to Vincent who nodded to the blonde and stood up.

"I will fetch you once we're back," Vincent said to Naomi and they left the bar.

Tifa furrowed her brow and scowled at the door after it had closed behind the men.

Naomi gave her a questioning look. "What did that mean?" she wanted to know. "Do I have to worry about them?"

Tifa shook her head. "No. They will be fine," she tried to reassure the musician. "There is no need to worry. They know what they are doing and they can take care of themselves. Besides..." The brunette stopped in the middle of the sentence and sighed. "Let's talk later," she said with a look at the occupied tables. "Right now we're busy enough without this."

Naomi wasn't really reassured at all but it wouldn't help getting mad now. There was really enough they should be busy with.

After some time all the tables were empty and just the customer at the counter was still there. He payed for his drinks and got up, watching the student intently, giving her the creeps. As soon as he turned away from her she crossed her arms and shuddered.

Sighing Tifa put the glass into the sink and looked at her watch. Cloud and Vincent had been absent for quite some time but she wasn't surprised at that. Surely they wanted to search the ruin thoroughly and she didn't know how big it was or in which state it was really in. They could probably get in danger if they moved too quickly...

After the last customer had left the bar Naomi pulled a face and started to wash the last glasses. "What about opening hours? Are they defined or do you close after the last people have gone?"

"Usually I close the bar at around midnight. Three am at weekends. But it depends on the frequency of customers if I close earlier or later sometimes," the brunette replied. "If you don't want to wait for Vincent you can stay for the night. I will call him and tell him that you stay here."

"If you don't mind I would like to wait a little," Naomi answered. "If he doesn't come back within an hour..." She shrugged.

"You're worried, huh?" Tifa smiled encouragingly. "Okay, let's wait for some time. If he doesn't come back within an hour I'm going to call him."

Naomi nodded and began to push the chairs to the tables and clean them. Meanwhile Tifa took care of the kitchen – which Naomi still refused to enter. The guitarist went over to the counter to clean it too as the door was opened behind her. She turned to the newcomers, hoping that it would be Cloud and Vincent.

But she was disappointed. There were two men entering the bar, one of them was quite tanned and wore dark sunglasses. The other one, though, was rather lanky and had tousled red hair.

She froze for a moment due to shock before the rag fell out of Naomi's hand as she stepped back. This couldn't be... How on Earth could this be possible? There was just no way to...

They reached the middle of the room – the tanned one looked rather serious while the redhead was grinning widely – as Naomi got over the first shock which turned into overwhelming delight. "Kôji!" she called out and had crossed the distance between them within a split second to hug her friend. Wildly she flung her arms around his neck out of joy to see him again causing him to lose balance and both of them crashed down to the floor.

"I just thought I would never see you again," she muttered. The thought to stand up or let go of the redhead didn't even cross her mind. "Where on Earth have you been? How did you get here? What happened to the others? Yûichi? Rikuo? Luca?" she rattled on.

The man beneath her groaned and tried to loosen her arms around his neck carefully. "I hate to be a spoilsport, yo," he said breathlessly, "but I think you're mixing me up with someone."

Naomi blinked. This definitely wasn't Kôji's voice. She sat up and watched the man intently. It was only then that she realized his eyes weren't brown but aquamarine. That he had a few freckles and two similar scars over his cheekbones which were almost invisible because of his mischievous grin – which resembled Kôji's pretty much, though. And there was still the shock of red hair.

Right at this moment the realization that she was looking into a completely alien face hit her. She blushed and finally stood up, sheepishly muttering an apology.

The redhead struggled to his feet with some help from his comrade. Then he tousled her pink hair. "It's quite okay, nothing happened really," he retorted with an amused undertone in his voice. "You are free to mix me up any time, if you promise that you won't try to strangle me again, yo."

Naomi couldn't suppress a smile and her blush deepened a little. "I will keep that in mind."

The redhead laid an arm around her and led her to the counter just as Tifa came out of the kitchen, wondering what all that noise meant. When the brunette saw the men in the dark suits she smiled. "Reno, Rude... nice to see you again," she greeted them as they sat down at the counter while Naomi pushed Reno's arm away and picked the rag up from the floor where she had dropped it before.

"Hello Tifa," Rude replied with a deep voice. "Long time no see."

"What happened?" she asked before her gaze fell onto Naomi's reddened face. "Reno..." she said slowly, "did you bother Naomi?" The disapproval in her voice couldn't be missed.

He held up his hands defensively. "How can you think something like this about me?" he asked in fake horror. "It was just a misunderstanding, yo!"

Tifa folded her arms. "Really?" It wasn't a real question and definitely sounded quite accusing.

"It was my fault," Naomi intervened. "I mistook him for a friend of mine," she added silently and her head drooped.

The brunette gave her a pitying look. "If you say so..." she gave in. "Can I help you with something?" she asked the men who exchanged a look.

"Actually we wanted to stop by to see how you were doing," Reno replied. "After all, it has been quite some time since we saw each other and I'd never say 'no' to a glass of beer, yo," he added grinning widely.

Rude looked from Tifa to Naomi and back again but didn't say anything.

The guitarist wanted to round the counter so she could continue her cleaning but Reno stopped her. "Hang on a sec, young lady, you owe me one."

She watched him in irritation. "I owe you? What for?"

A mischievous grin grew on his face. "For your assault." He winked at her. "The least you can do is to have a drink with me."

Rude snorted. "Why don't you admit that you actually enjoyed it?" he muttered.

Reno's grin grew even wider. "Sure, I can't fancy anything better than having a cute girl lunge at me."

Naomi raised her eyebrows and turned to Tifa, a confused look on her face.

The brunette shook her head and smiled. "Don't mind him, he's always like that," she said. "It's okay, you can sit down. Right now there's nothing to do anyway."

With a deep sigh the student sat down on a bar stool, right beside the redhead. "Great, a beer really wouldn't be amiss."

"You surely don't need permission to have a drink with me?" Reno wondered as he shot Tifa an irritated look.

"I started working here today," Naomi retorted and took a large glass of beer from Tifa.

"Besides... one can never be careful enough if it concerns you," the brunette added in amusement.

Reno clutched his shirt in mock hurt. "How can you say that!" he exclaimed. "I wouldn't do anything I'm not asked for."

"Exactly," Tifa replied, more serious this time.

He shrugged before he clinked glasses with Naomi. "I've never seen you here before," he said to her as Rude started a casual conversation with Tifa.

"Duh! I've been living here... in this town for about a week now and today's the first time I actually entered this bar at all," she replied. "Until now there are just a few people I know. Including you that makes five now."

"I see..." The readhead leaned over to her, interest apparent on his face. "So, where do you come from, yo?"

"From..." She swallowed hard. "Surely you haven't heard about it, it is really far away from here."

Reno furrowed his brow but before he could ask her some more questions Tifa's phone rang. The call didn't take long and as she closed the connection she looked intently at Naomi.

"What's up?" the guitarist whispered feebly. "Did something happen?" She felt light-headed and she held on to the counter to not fall off her stool.

Reno and Rude immediately pricked their ears.

"Cloud and Vincent are fine," Tifa retorted. "Nothing happened to them and they're on their way back," she tried to calm the student down who went as pale as chalk. "But they... found some interesting things, maybe they are... well... they want to bring something so you can have a look at it."

Reno laid a hand on Naomi's shoulder. "Where did they find what?" he wanted to know. "What's Naomi got to do with that?" He didn't know what was going on and he didn't like that. Besides, this could be quite interesting, considering the pink haired woman's reaction and the careful choice of words from Tifa.

Tifa turned around with a sigh. "That's a damn long story. Do you really want to hear it?"

He looked at the ashen face of the musician who clutched the counter with shivering fingers. Then he nodded.

* * *

**A/N**: There... it is done... since I've found some mistakes in my other story, I'm going to deal with them now and update as soon as possible.


	5. Odds

**Chapter 5**

_Odds_

After Tifa and Naomi had told them everything they knew all of them sat there in silence. It took just a few moments for the student to get up with a jolt. "Washroom," she said curtly and disappeared through the back door.

"Geez..." Reno muttered and ran his hands through his messy hair. "So that's true, yo."

"Huh?" Tifa gave him a questioning look. "What is?"

The Turk shook his head. "I don't know anything definite," he said after exchanging a look with Rude. "There are a few speculations and rumors... A short while ago we received word about a scientist who used to work with Hojo back in the old days, yo." He sighed. "Regarding those rumors he worked on some strange machine, I'm not sure. What I can definitely say is that one of his experiments seems to have been a complete flop, yo. He didn't survive the explosion, I fear."

Now the brunette pricked her ears. "When was that?" she asked flatly.

Reno shrugged. "Can't tell exactly. Maybe it was two weeks ago or even three. As far as I know the house he worked in is a wreckage, yo. Since we don't know what he was doing there we can't be sure what caused this... accident."

"Good gracious..." Tifa gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"But that doesn't really explain why or how Naomi is here now," Rude objected. This was the first time he actually said something for quite some time.

"I wouldn't bet on that," Reno replied. "Chances are... that this explosion made it possible for her to get here in the first place even if she didn't want to. Though I wonder how that could have happened. As long as we don't know more about it there's nothing else I could tell you."

Naomi chose this moment to return. The redhead watched her thoughtfully. "What's up?" she asked with a furrowed brow. "Do I have something on my face?"

He shook his head. "We have to come up with something," he said as she sat down beside him, picking at one of her pink strands. "This is way too flashy."

The guitarist laughed bitterly. "And what am I supposed to do about that? If I were in Tokyo I'd know where to go... but here?" She shook her head. "Fat chance! Besides, Kôji and Yûichi dyed my hair like this. And I actually happen to like pink."

Reno pursed his lips. "Maybe you should work on your wording too. At least a little, yo. It would be better if you didn't mention non-existent things in front of strangers. Don't talk about your home if you don't know who could overhear your conversation."

Mumbling she turned away from him. "Can I have another beer?" she asked Tifa.

Rude stood up and the others watched him enquiringly. "I will go step on some feet, maybe someone can give us some information." As his comrade wanted to follow him he gestured for him to stay. "I will manage this. You stay here and keep an eye on things." With these words he turned around and left the bar.

The redhead blinked in irritation but shrugged it off and thankfully took the beer Tifa gave him. He watched Naomi half-finishing her own glass in one go and was quite amused. "Do you want to get drunk?"

She burst out laughing. "If I wanted to I would drink something else," she said with a wide grin. "I may not look like it but I can do with pretty much." She pulled an ashtray towards her and started searching through her pockets.

Reno offered her one of his cigarettes and a lighter before he lighted one for himself. "Are you even old enough for this stuff?" he asked her amusedly.

Naomi made an indefinite gesture. "Depends on how old you have to be here. At home I definitely am. Was." She grimaced.

"I assume that you are older than sixteen," he grinned. "Otherwise I'd have to worry, yo."

"Well... you've missed about nine years there," she answered with a laugh. "I'm not that young anymore."

He was surprised. "You serious? You're twenty-five? Well... I wouldn't have thought that, yo! Definitely don't look your age."

She shook her head. "Not yet... not until July. So, I've still got some time."

"Well... that's not that long anymore, it's already the end of May," Tifa said. "It was on the 8th, wasn't it?"

The guitarist nodded in agreement. "Right..." she sighed. "Then I have already finished my first quarter of a century..." She rolled her eyes and let her head sink onto the counter surface. "I am _so_ old!"

"There there..." Reno patted her shoulder lightly. "You're not _that_ old, yo."

"Fine... how about I am _so _not young?" She sat back up again but a little too abruptly. She nearly fell over with her stool and she would have if the Turk hadn't held her.

"Whoa... take it easy," he said. "If you continue like this you won't experience how it feels to be 25 at all."

She took a deep breath and thanked him. At this moment the door was opened. Hopefully she turned around. Her expression brightened as she saw Cloud and Vincent enter. Finally. Her gaze instantly fell upon the item the dark haired man carried and with a loud cry she jumped up and went over to them.

"Oh – my – fucking – GOD!" Gingerly she took her guitar case from him. "This is..." She put it onto the table and opened it. The case was a little scratched but the instrument seemed to be completely unharmed.

"We also found this," Cloud told her and put her amplifier beside the case. "Plus some other things, but we couldn't get everything out of there without being seen. We will go back tomorrow to retrieve more."

She nodded absentmindedly and let her shivering fingers glide over the equipment. Primarily it just seemed to be a little bit dusty. "Do you have a power socket somewhere?" she whispered. She was just shocked to find those items here that she was lacking the power to talk louder. Even before she got a reply she discovered what she was looking for. "I hope you don't mind?" she asked as she plugged the amp because she wanted to check if everything was still working right now. She was way too stunned about her stuff being here to notice that the socket was compatible.

"Help yourself," Tifa answered. She put her towel away which she'd used to dry the glasses.

After plugging everything Naomi sat down on a chair and tuned her beloved guitar before she struck some random chords. She was glad that nothing was broken. Finally she put the instrument away.

"Hey, why don't you play something for us?" Reno asked her but she shook her head.

"Not now... it's already quite late," she muttered before she looked at Vincent. "Have those things already been there before? You know... a week ago?" she wanted to know.

"I don't know," he replied quietly. "I didn't search everywhere last time." He reached into his pocket. "I think that's also yours."

Naomi stretched her hand out and he gave her a fountain pen. Upon seeing this she positively froze. She really _did_ know it – though it didn't belong to her. The young guitarist could remember the last time she saw that pen for the last time all too well...

Reno stepped up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She jerked then nodded slowly. "Yes..." She gulped. If this fountain pen was here then its owner probably was, too. She looked up at Reno. "Can you do me a favor?"

He gave her a wide grin. "If I don't have to put my life on line again... sure thing."

The student raised an eyebrow. "Is there any way for you to find someone if I give you a picture?"

Reno thought about it. "I think there is. I'm a Turk after all, yo. I just don't know how long it will take," he replied. "Someone you know, huh?"

She nodded and asked Tifa for a sheet of paper. After getting it she started to draw something. Her artistic abilities didn't suffice for a real-life portrait but the sketch she drew right now was explicit enough to recognize the person it showed. "If my guess is correct then he should be somewhere around here too," she said as she gave the picture to Reno. "His name is Markus Jansen if that is of any help to you."

The redhead watched the sketch intently. "I'll see what I can do for you," he promised. "As soon as I find something out I will tell you."

"Thanks." Naomi stifled a yawn. "What's been there other than this stuff?"

"Can't tell exactly," Cloud said. "Like Vincent said we wanted to return there anyway to get the rest. When we do so we can take the opportunity to look for some hidden things too."

"How about some help?" Reno suggested. "I could get the helicopter to get the stuff away. I would like to take a look around this place anyway."

The blond considered him for a moment before he nodded. "Sure, that would make it a lot easier," he agreed.

"I think we should go now," Vincent added who didn't miss how beat the pink haired woman actually was.

She gave him a tired look. "That is a great idea," she agreed.

"Okay," Tifa said. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

The guitarist nodded. "What time am I supposed to be here?"

"Noon will be okay. There's nothing to do before then, I think. And I don't want you to be here just to get bored." She hugged Naomi goodbye and wished her a good night which the guitarist answered.

"How can I be bored if I have your company?" Naomi replied with a smile. She really liked Tifa pretty much already.

"Thanks, same here," the brunette replied. "I guess working together will make time pretty fast - whether there are customers or not."

Reno tousled her hair with a wide grin on his face. "Sweet dreams and next time you should look at people more closely before you attack them."

The young woman snorted. "Don't worry, I'll do. Something like this won't happen twice. Not even to me." She waved them all goodbye and left the _7th Heaven_ with Vincent.

* * *

At about the same time but a completely different place a secret phone call was made.


	6. Lonesome

**Chapter 6**

_Lonesome_

The following days went by without any events. Reno visited the _7th Heaven_ about every evening but he couldn't give Naomi any news about Markus. She was growing more impatient by each passing day but there was nothing she could do about it. The others did find a few of her things, though. Stuff she used to take to the studio with her. Like her notebook and a light jacket. And some spare clothes.

About a week after they first met the redhead entered the bar to find the student all on her own, sitting at the counter, her glass half-empty. "Huh?" he wondered. "How come you're alone?" It was nearly closing time.

The guitarist turned around to look at him. She pulled a face then stood up. "Hi Reno," she muttered as she locked the door behind him and then turned off all the lights except the one at the counter.

He was quite irritated and raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you too," he said. "Is everything okay, yo?" he then wanted to know.

She watched him questioningly then nodded before she returned to her glass. With a sigh she sat down on the stool. By now she had grown accustomed to his strange slang. She'd questioned him about it but he couldn't explain thoroughly where and why he'd originally picked it up. After some time she just dropped the subject and tried not to think about it.

Reno followed her and sat down beside her. He watched her carefully. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Naomi flashed him a side glance. With another sigh she shrugged. "I think so..." she growled. "Right now, everything seems to be a little odd, you know." She grimaced and emptied her glass.

Frowning, he took the glass away from her. "Wasn't it already odd before? Like, since you're here?" he added. "Where's Tifa, anyway?" he added, like it was just an afterthought.

"Went to Corel with Cloud and the children," was the curt reply.

Again he raised an eyebrow. "What about Vincent?"

"Off somewhere."

The redhead pursed his lips. "So, you really are alone here?" he asked in surprise.

She turned her head to look at him. "You're here," she replied simply.

He suppressed a sigh with difficulty. "When will they be back?"

She watched him silently. After a moment she finally answered. "Definitely not before tomorrow evening. But I think they will be off for at least two or three days longer." Before he could retort anything she continued. "Tifa left the bar in my care because she thinks I can handle it. And I will." Then she stood up and took her glass from him.

Reno grabbed her wrist. "Yeah, by getting drunk, yo," he said sarcastically. "Maybe you should go home."

The guitarist disengaged from his grip and circled the counter to mix up another drink. "I'm not getting drunk," she said pointedly. "And I can't go home as you very well know," she sighed.

He preferred not to answer that and rested his elbow on the wooden surface. "What is this?" he wanted to know as he watched her put various sorts of juice and spirits into the shaker.

She added some ice cubes. "Sex on the beach," she replied then she put the lid onto the cup and began to shake it. "At least it is supposed to be something like that. Want some?"

For some seconds he just watched her, bewildered. But then a wide grin grew on his face. "Sure!"

Naomi raised her eyebrows then she rolled her eyes with a sigh. "It's a cocktail, Reno," she explained mumbling. "Really!"

He smirked and winked at her. "I surmised as much, yo. I just wanted to see your reaction." His grin grew even wider. "I was rather hoping to cheer you up a little. Seems it didn't work out too well."

She pursed her lips and watched him carefully but then she could bring herself to smile. As she was finished mixing she took a second glass and poured the drink into both of them. She put some ice cubes into the glasses before putting them onto the counter. Then she sat down beside Reno. "I really hope this will taste like it's supposed to," she said as she raised her glass. "Right now I'm experimenting with some stuff because not all drinks I know from back home are available here."

The redhead took a large gulp then he pulled a face and put the glass down.

She frowned at him. "Not good?" she asked and sipped her drink. "I think it's okay... though a little different from how I wanted it to be."

He watched her and blinked. "You could have warned me about this stuff being sweet like hell, yo," he complained with a grin.

"You've seen me pouring juice into the drink," she replied piqued. "So what did you expect? Salt'n pepper?"

He couldn't suppress a laugh. "Okay, okay... you've won." For a moment he watched her intently. "I really do like sweet stuff but this was just a little too much for me," he added with a shrug.

The guitarist raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather have a beer?"

"Yes, please."

She wanted to stand up but he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean that you should get it right now."

Naomi looked at him without saying anything. After some seconds she pushed his hand away and went behind the counter. "You want me to drink alone?" She emptied her own glass and then his. "Besides... I'm working here... and even though the bar is closed for now – you're still sitting at my counter."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I won't say anything anymore, yo," he replied laughing. As she returned to him with two glasses of beer he cocked his head. "When do you think Vincent will be back?" he wanted to know.

She shrugged with a sigh. "I don't know. I think he has some important business to attend to, he didn't tell me. Who knows when he will be back. He doesn't talk much anyway."

"And you're still living at his place?"

She weighed her head. "Not really. Actually, yeah. More or less. Kind of." Then she pulled a face. "Right now I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she muttered. "I can't afford my own apartment yet and I still hope that I can get back home pretty soon... I don't want to give the impression of being ungrateful by just leaving... even though I don't want to be a burden to anyone..." She sighed heavily. "It's quite difficult, see?"

He tousled her hair encouragingly. "You'll manage just fine," he said. "And if I can help you in any way..."

Slowly she shook her head. "I'm getting enough help as it is." Thoughtfully she tilted her head. "You haven't found out anything by any chance?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I would have told you already if I had, yo."

The student sighed again and sipped her beer. "It's okay," she muttered as she grimaced. "I didn't really expect to get some news so soon. Or that they're easy to get."

He pulled at one of her pink strands. "Where do you sleep if they've all gone out?" he asked her.

She looked up to the ceiling. "Here. What did you think?"

Reno watched her thoughtfully and shrugged. "I don't know... you could stay at my place."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "That's... nice. But I can't accept it to save my life."

"Why not?" he asked in irritation.

Sighing she ran a hand through her hair. "Because I'd feel awkward..." she muttered. "I don't like to depend on people, you know... I really appreciate your help, so don't get me wrong... but..." She sighed again and let her head sink onto the counter. "I feel quite useless and... substandard."

"You shouldn't be saying that!" the redhead replied determinedly. "I know it's not easy for you... in a foreign environment full of people you barely know. Cut off from your own home and your friends." He gave her a stern look. "Regarding your situation you manage pretty good."

She sat back up and gave him a thankful glance. Then she sipped her beer again.

"Hm." Reno emptied his glass. "I don't think Tifa would approve if we emptied her bar." He stood up.

She gave him a questioning look. "Believe me, I didn't intend to," she assured him. "I didn't drink ›that‹ much. There's only so much one person can drink... Are you leaving already?"

"Actually I wanted to take you with me," he replied with a grin. As she merely frowned he rolled his eyes. "Obviously you don't want to be alone right now. Otherwise you wouldn't have waited for me and would be in bed for some time now."

"I didn't..." she started to protest but he interrupted her. "We can have a drink or two at some other place. And it will be futile to object. You really should get out more often." He shook his head. "It's not doing you any good to just stay here on your own. You actually seem to be more of a cheerful person when you're not moping." He flashed her a grin. "When do you have to open the bar tomorrow?"

She exhaled a frustrated sigh. His resemblance to Kôji was quite striking right now. "In the afternoon... around two pm."

He nodded after looking at his watch. "There's plenty of time to have a drink. And we can sleep in tomorrow," he decided. "If you want to we can grab a bite somewhere. But if you sit around here, all alone, drinking by yourself, you'll just get depressed. That's something I definitely won't have," he winked at her.

For a moment she just watched him in astonishment then she emptied her glass and stood up, muttering silently. "Just let me clean up here or I will have more work than necessary when I open the bar tomorrow."

"Take your time."

After she finished both of them left the bar together and Naomi locked the doors carefully. "Where do you want to go?" she wanted to know after they went in silence for a while. They turned into an alley. "Is there any bar that's still open?"

He casted a side glance at her. "Honestly? I didn't really think about that... but we'll find something. If we don't there's still my place. I have enough to get along with."

The musician stopped dead in her tracks and raised an eyebrow. Sighing he turned to face her. "I won't do anything to you, don't worry." He stepped up to her then laid an arm around her shoulders to lead her through the nightly streets.

As they stopped in front of a house they'd passed not one open bar at all. Naomi wasn't really surprised at that and she crossed her arms while he opened the door. With a theatrical gesture he bowed and indicated the inside. "May I ask you to enter my humble home?"

She had to smile involuntarily and nodded before she went inside. "It's nice to see that not everything seems to be that different from home," she said. She followed him into his apartment. After he opened the door and switched on the light she looked around in interest. It didn't seem to be too big but quite comfortable.

Reno immediately went to search for something to drink. "I'm sorry for the chaos here," he said, "but actually I wasn't prepared for guests. And I don't spend too much time in this city, usually."

She raised her eyebrow in amusement. "Chaos?" She'd definitely seen worse. Here and there lay some newspapers on the floor. At least, there were no moldy food scraps lying around. "I can see too much of your carpet, that's no chaos," she grinned as she sat down on the couch.

"If you say so," he smiled benignly and put two glasses and a bottle onto the table.

"Hmm..." Naomi took the bottle and opened it before she took a smell at it. "Looks like whiskey." She poured some of the amber liquid into both glasses. "Smells like whiskey." They clinked their glasses and she sipped the drink. "And it tastes like whiskey," she declared with a contented nod.

The redhead watched her in interest. "You sure know something about alcohol."

Frowning, she turned to him. "What are you implying with that?"

"Nothing," he replied. "It was just a statement."

She pursed her lips and took another sip. "Well," she murmured and shrugged. "I don't know that much about alcohol... but I've sure tried a few. Somehow I had to find out what I like and what I don't."

He nodded slowly. "That's right, yo..." Then he leaned back comfortably and laid an arm onto the backrest. "Can I ask you something...?"

Naomi slipped out of her shoes and folded her legs. "What is it?"

"This guy you want me to find," he started, "this Markus Jansen or whatever his name was... who is that?"

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "My ex-boyfriend," she muttered. "I've known him for nine years now... though we haven't seen each other for some time."

Reno frowned. "And what makes you think that he could be here, too?" he wanted to know.

She sipped her drink and leaned back. "Because," she explained and got the fountain pen Vincent had found in this ruin out of her pocket, "I gave him this one a long time ago. Thus I think he could be here, too." She tilted her head and watched him.

He returned her gaze. "And if not?"

The student merely shrugged. "Then he's not here," she sighed. "I'm not really sure if I preferred it this way... but... I can't imagine that this thing came here by accident. At least, not more than me."

The redhead thoughtfully chewed on his lower lip. Finally, he shrugged. "I'll see what I can do," he promised.

Naomi nodded curtly and put the pen back into her pocket. With this, the issue was settled for now. At least for her.

"You miss your friends pretty much, huh?" he asked after they'd remained silent for a while.

She emptied her glass and put it onto the table, then she tilted her head back. "Yes," she admitted quietly. "I miss them..." She watched him out of the corner of her eyes. "This has nothing to do with you... you are all very nice..." she assured him, "but it's not the same."

"I know," he replied sternly as he poured more whiskey into their glasses. "I do understand that you want to go back home, yo."

With a deep sigh she made herself more comfortable. "Of course... but then I will miss you." She gave him a tortured look. "All of you. Somehow, this is all quite... stupid."

He gave her a pitying look and handed Naomi her glass. Then he took his own and leaned back. "I can imagine, yo." Reno laid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "The sooner you can get home the easier it will be for you."

Naomi turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. After a few seconds she put her head on his shoulder. "That's about right," she finally stated. "I'm trying hard to fit in here, but this is still kind of alien to me."

An approving growl sounded in his throat and he tousled her hair. "Is there anyone you miss exceptionally?" he then wanted to know from her.

The guitarist took a deep breath. "Hard to tell," she replied evasively. "I miss my best friend the most, and my comrades... most of all Yûichi and Kôji. They are like older brothers to me, you know."

"No one else? No fiancé, boyfriend, husband... anything?" He tilted his head to look into her face. "I can't imagine that."

Frowning, she looked up to him. "I think I'm too young to marry anyone, don't you agree? And I've dumped my last boyfriend a while ago..." she mumbled. "It was quite hard at first, but actually I've gotten over it."

"Actually." He watched her intently.

Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "Okay... sometimes I feel a little lonely. Mostly since I am here. But not that much more than I did before," she answered. "We've both been musicians and were away on business quite often. There wasn't much time left for a private life." She pulled a face. "Besides... we've had different schedules, even though we've been signed to the same label."

Thoughtfully, he sipped his drink. "I can imagine that it was hard... if you can't see each other though you're quite close by..." he said slowly. "But it's too bad that you can't do much about it."

She burst out with a bitter laugh. "Rather... nothing, I'd say." Grimly, she emptied her glass. "Besides... I can't turn back time, anyway. I don't think I'd want that." She sighed. "We would've broken up sooner or later in any case. So... it's better that it happened sooner than later. If I had postponed the breakup, it would've hurt even more."

He also emptied his glass and put it onto the table. He took her glass out of her hand as she wanted to refill it. "Don't you think you've had enough to drink today?"

She simply shrugged. "It doesn't make a difference if I have one more drink. I already told you that I can hold my liquor pretty good." As he put her glass onto the table before turning to her, she raised an eyebrow. "Or do you have something better on mind?"

A wide grin grew on his face. "Hm." He pretended to think about it. "I think, I just know something way better." As he said this he laid a hand on her neck and pulled her towards him.

At first, Naomi was way too surprised to react and so she didn't resist immediately as Reno swept her hair out of her face and covered her lips with his. But finally, she got over the first shock and pulled back a little. "What are you doing?" she muttered quietly as she watched him enquiringly.

He frowned a little. "I thought that was obvious."

"Yes... but..." she stammered and her cheeks reddened. "I can't..."

Now it was his turn to frown. "And why not?" he asked silently. "Is there something to be said against this?"

She folded her legs and lowered her head, so that her hair hid her face. "I don't know..." she muttered. "It's just..." She ran a hand through her hair as she struggled to find words – but she couldn't come up with an explanation why she thought that this wasn't a good idea. She shouldn't get involved with people too deeply, right? Not here. Not as long as there was still hope to get home.

The whole time he ran his thumb lightly over her neck, causing goosebumps on her arms, and waited for her to continue.

After a few seconds she finally sighed. Why on Earth did she make such a fuss? She felt lonely – that was a fact. Maybe he did too – or he wouldn't spend that much time with her. So, what was her problem? ›To Hell with that,‹ she thought and determinedly turned her head to look at him.

While she was contemplating her thoughts he leaned forward and refilled their glasses, handing her one.

With a nod she took the glass from him, closed her eyes for a second and then emptied the glass in one go. As she put it back onto the table he hadn't even touched his own, so she took it and emptied it just as quickly, then put it back, too.

"Better?" he asked in amusement and raised his eyebrow.

"Yup." She stretched and laid her arms around his neck. He wanted to say something but she sealed his lips with her own immediately. If they continued to talk now her plucked up courage would leave her. She was sure about this.

His arms slipped around her waist and his hands slid under her string top as he gently pushed her back, so she came to lay on her back. Slowly, his fingers caressed her skin, leaving a slight prickling sensation which caused her to shiver.

She closed her eyes, ran her hands through his hair and tousled them even more. As she did so her finger got stuck in his hairtie which she removed without further ado, so it wouldn't bother her anymore. Carelessly, she threw it away.

Pushing her top slowly up her body he pulled back a little. He softly planted some kisses on her cheek and neck while he continued to push the top upwards. After a few moments he sat up and pulled her up with him. "Let's go to the bedroom," he murmured and stood up. He lifted her up with ease and carried her over into his bedroom where he put her down onto his bed. Then he removed his jacket and joined her.

Naomi seized his collar with both hands and pulled him closer to her, before she started to unbutton his shirt. Then she pushed it down his shoulders, her fingers gently caressing his exposed skin.

With a slight grin Reno looked at her and covered her lips with his own as he entwined his arms around her and pulled her down with him.

* * *

**A/N**: So... I'm going to take care of the rest as soon as I find time to do so... since I am quite busy at the moment, I fear that you will have to wait a little... sorry about that, but I hope you enjoy this story, anyway. I actually thought about writing a lemon here, but obviously refrained from it because it would have been too hard to write at the moment.


	7. Daybreak

**Chapter 7**

_Daybreak_

When Naomi woke up the next day the sun had already risen. Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes and blinked at the window but with immediate regret because of the blinding sunlight. Muttering, she rolled over and snuggled deeper into the blanket as she buried her face in the pillow. She felt someone move beside her but didn't react to it.

Finally, someone laid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. An appreciative growl escaped her throat. The only downer this morning was the fact that she was starting to get a slight headache. Furthermore, her mouth felt quite dry. This could only mean that she had been drinking the night before. But she didn't feel the slightest bit of motivation to try to remember what she could have done otherwise.

Besides, she was feeling hungry. Mumbling, she pulled a face and turned onto her other side, snuggling closer to the person lying beside her. Carefully, some of her pink strands were pushed out of her face as someone whispered a quiet ›good morning‹ into her ear.

She stiffened immediately. She knew that voice but hadn't expected to hear it at this place – and also expected someone else's. For a moment she held her breath and exhaled audibly. Where the heck was she, anyway?

Slowly, she opened her eyes and lifted her gaze to the face that belonged to the voice. Reno looked at her, a wide grin plastered on his face. She returned the gaze and blinked. She wanted to say something but she couldn't find any words. Then she drew back a little and looked down his upper part of the body which was completely undressed. Plus, if she wasn't completely mislead – she was wearing just as much as he did: nothing.

The redhead furrowed his brow. "Are you okay?" he wanted to know.

She nodded mechanically, then she sighed deeply. "Yes," she whispered. "It's just a slight headache."

"Well, I'm not surprised, yo," he replied smirking. "You've been drinking enough for at least both of us. Even I would feel bad after that. Do you want breakfast?"

"Mhm," she groaned in agreement and pulled a face. "That's a good idea."

Grinning, he tousled her hair then got up. "Well... how much did you drink before I came?" he asked and looked around for some clothes. Then he thought about it. "Though..." he said deliberately, "I think I'd rather not know." He winked at her. "Do you always drink that much?"

"No," she muttered, "that's quite rare." She rubbed her face with both hands and sat up, feeling lightheaded. She pulled up the blanket to cover her body. Then she looked around and saw her clothes scattered all over the room. She tucked up her legs and wrapped her arms around them. With a deep sigh she let her head sink onto her knees as she heard Reno close the door to the bathroom behind him.

So... really... damn.

She sighed again. Definitely, she'd been alone way too long that this could have happened to her. Actually, she didn't dislike Reno... in fact, she liked him pretty much... But this was the first time that she... She'd known him for only one week! Was it because of the alcohol? Though... even if she'd been drunk before, it had never ever happened that she went to bed with a guy she barely knew. Maybe it was because he resembled Kôji so much that she usually didn't think about the fact that she'd known him for such a short period... Though with Kôji this wouldn't have happened at all.

She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. Actually, she didn't want to blame Reno. He may actually have taken advantage of the situation but she still could have said no... Maybe the resemblance between both men wasn't limited to just their looks. She really shouldn't get involved with him more than necessary. Otherwise, she'd be hurt when she returned home. If that was possible at all.

As Reno emerged from the bathroom she still sat there like this. "What's up?" he asked quietly, sat down beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sick?"

Frowning, she looked up to him and took her hands back down. "No... it's okay..." she replied muttering. "It's just my head." Well, this was just part of the truth but not a lie at all. Her ears seemed to burn as she avoided his gaze.

"I can give you a pain killer, if this helps..." he offered but she shook her head.

"Aspirin won't help at all, water would be much better..." She turned her eyes back to his face and frowned slightly. "Much liquid is the best method, since alcohol deprives the body of water." Finally, she raised a hand and ran her thumb over his cheek. "Those aren't scars..." she whispered and narrowed her eyes to have a better look at him. "Those are tattoos."

A grin spread on his face and he took her hand. "Finally noticed that, yo. You've had pretty much opportunity before." His grin widened. "Seems like you were distracted pretty much, yo."

Naomi snorted. "Huh... when was that? What do you think should've been distracting me in your opinion?" she muttered as she pulled her hand away.

"Well..." He played with a strand of her pink coloured hair. "The first time we met, for example... you mistook me for your friend. Yesterday, for instance, you've been busy with something different, too... and definitely not with my face," he grinned.

In fake indignation she poked him and he couldn't suppress a laugh. "Really!" She raised an eyebrow. "Men are all the same..."

"That's not true," Reno answered back. "You actually wanted to know..." He stopped in mid-sentence and another grin spread on his face. "You're kind of cute, did anyone ever tell you this?" He ran his hand through her hair and stood up again. "I'm going to get you some water."

Sighing, Naomi fell back onto the pillow and closed her eyes as she covered them with her arm. "What time is it, anyway?" she wanted to know.

The redhead returned with a large glass of water and sat back down on the bed beside her. "Ten am... so you can take your time before you have to open the bar."

She turned her head a little and threw him a skeptical look. "Time for what?"

Theatrically, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling and handed her the glass. "To drink that water, for example." He furrowed his brow. "And you wanted to have breakfast, didn't you. Maybe you want to take a shower. Something like this." He shook his head lightly. "What you're always making of me..." he sighed.

"Nonsense," she growled quietly. "I just didn't know if you had something in mind, that's all." Then she took her arm down and propped herself on her elbows. "Though a shower sounds pretty good to me." She shifted into a more comfortable position before she took the glass from him. "Thanks."

"Any time," he replied with a smirk as she took a large gulp of the water. "Do you want to take a shower before or after breakfast?" he asked

"Before," she said curtly.

"Okay." He playfully tousled her hair. Right when she emptied her glass his phone started to ring. He rolled his eyes and stood up to get it. She put down the glass and took the opportunity to quickly get into the bathroom.

As soon as she closed the door behind her she leaned against it and closed her eyes. Well, she brought that onto herself... What on Earth had she been thinking?

Nothing, obviously. Otherwise she wouldn't be here right now – at least not in this parlous situation. Though when she thought about it... actually, it wasn't that bad. At least, she hoped so.

She swept her dishevelled hair back, pushed herself off the door and went into the shower. As she put on the hot water she was absorbed in thoughts about the past night. It didn't take very long until she tried to distract herself, since the mere thought made her feel nervous. Though she would never admit it to anyone.

As she cleaned herself she desperately tried to think about something else. How was she supposed to behave toward Reno now? Maybe it was best if she just acted like she always did. But she wasn't sure if that would be as easy as she hoped for. Or probably she should look at him like she looked at Kôji. Some kind of older brother figure. Then this wouldn't happen again.

With a deep sigh she turned off the water and left the shower, then she looked for some fresh towels. Luckily, she found them quickly enough. So she wouldn't have to embarrass herself by asking Reno. She toweled herself off, wound one towel around her hair like a turban and another one around her body. Then she opened the door.

Reno, who was busy collecting her stuff off the floor, straightened up and turned to face her. A wide grin grew on his face as he observed her appearance. "You should don something, or I might get ideas."

"Don't you dare," she muttered as she took her clothes from him. "I still haven't had breakfast. Thus it's best not to tangle with me."

"I'll keep that in mind, yo," he grinned at her. "By the way... Tifa sends her regards."

Surprised, she tilted her head. "She's back already?"

The redhead shook his head. "No... she said she would be staying for another few days. At first, she tried to call you at ›7th Heaven‹ but couldn't, obviously. So she called me to ask if I knew were you are."

Naomi raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything... yet.

"Now... don't give that look," he said amusedly. "I told her that you are doing fine and that I kind of kidnapped you, so you don't have to spend too much time on your own." He couldn't suppress a grin. "Since it's true, more or less, there's no problem there. Though I didn't tell her that you've spent the night here."

She still didn't say anything and leaned against the door frame, frowning slightly. "How come you didn't tell her?" she finally asked. She didn't like it when someone beat around the bush, not wanting to get to the point at all.

He looked at her in mock horror. "Are you crazy? I don't want to know what she will do to me, just because she thinks I did something to you! Besides... she could send Vincent or Clour after me. Or even both of them."

The musician bit her lip to refrain herself from laughing, though it didn't work for very long. Finally, she started to giggle and raised a hand to cover her mouth.

"What's so funny about that?" he wanted to know.

She desperately gasped for breath and wiped a tear of laughter out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry," she said. "But right now you really remind me of Kôji... he was always afraid of being hurt because of me, too..."

He knitted his brows and watched her intently. "I see..."

Slowly she calmed down and hugged her clothes. "Yes... though he never had a reason to, for he never gave Luca a reason to harm him. At least not as long as it concerned me."

Reno pursed his lips. "So... why was he afraid of her?" he asked.

Naomi sighed heavily. "Kôji is a hopeless womanizer. When we first met Luca threatened to let him suffer terribly, if he ever dared touch me..." She grimaced wistfully. "He always stuck to it. Sure, there had been some playful jokes and stuff... But there has always been a line he'd never crossed. Besides, he is still one of my best friends and we're working together. So it's like an unwritten law that... relationships like this were never going to happen."

For some time he watched her thoughtfully, then he shrugged. "I see," he said. "You really shouldn't start something between colleagues." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Did you want to?"

"What did I want?" she replied in irritation. "Start something with Kôji?" She shook her head vehemently. "No way! I really like him pretty much and we spent much time together, but..." She sighed again. "I don't know, but there has never been this kind of interest... I already told you that he's more like a brother to me, right?"

"Well..." He eyed her from head to toe, a wide grin on his face. "Still, it would be better for you to get dressed. Otherwise, it will take quite some time for us to leave here." After saying this he turned around and left the room.

Naomi rolled her eyes and returned to the bathroom where she toweled her hair, hung up the towels and put her clothes on, deep in thought. For one moment she'd had the impression that Reno was sort of jealous. But she must have been mistaken. With a deep sigh she tried to get rid of this thought. It was futile to wrack her brains over things that weren't facts. Besides... she refused to give up hope to be able to go home soon.

She grimaced and looked around for a brush which she found quickly. After she was finnished she went into the bedroom but the redhead was nowhere to be seen. The guitarist pursed her lips and continued her way to the living room where she found him sitting on the couch, a cigarette in his left hand.

He looked up at her. "Considering that you're a woman you've been quite quick," he grinned as she sat down beside him, getting a cigarette out of the package which she lighted. "Definitely a Brownie point for you, yo." He pulled at one of her pink strands. He stubbed out his own cigarette before he stood up. "So... shall we?"

"Shall we... what?" was her irritated reply.

"Have breakfast." He started to laugh as she threw the cigarette pack at him.

"You're really obnoxious, did anyone ever tell you that?" she muttered. "Am I at least allowed to finish this first?"

"Of course you are." He gave her an amused look, then put on his shoes.

As she finished her cigarette she slid into her own shoes and stood up. He laid an arm around her shoulders and they left the apartment together. She pulled a face. "Where do you want to go to have breakfast?" she asked him.

"There's a really nice café just around the corner," he replied. "Right now there's not much I have here at this place... like I told you yesterday, I actually wasn't prepared for guests." Since she didn't answer he thought that she didn't want to object and tried to suppress a grin as he led her around a corner into an alley which would lead them directly to said café.

* * *

**A/N**: Well... this was way faster than expected. But I fear the next one will take some time to finish...


	8. Back

**Chapter 8**

_Back_

Naomi was pretty bored, sitting at the counter. She flipped through the current newspaper and was waiting for anyone to enter the ›7th Heaven‹. It had been at least one hour since the last customer had left and that she was all alone. One glimpse at her watch told her that it was just nine pm, so it was way too early to already close up.

Sighing, she folded the newspaper, stood up and began to clean the tables. Tifa still hadn't returned from Corel, Vincent was also still doing whatever he did. Not even Reno had accompanied her today, though he ususally visited her every day. Actually, she should be enjoying this time alone, since there hadn't been that much of it for the past few days. But still, she was feeling a bit lonely.

After a while, she grimaced irritatedly and put the cloth away. She sat down on a stool and sipped her drink. Like always in those moments when there was nothing productive she had to do, her thoughts returned to that evening four days ago. Although she didn't want to think about it in the first place. She had already tried everything to divert her thoughts, but nothing had worked so far. The fact that she was spending quite a lot of time with Reno wasn't helping the matter at all.

Still, she couldn't understand how she could have let herself get involved with the redhead, more than was good for her. At the beginning, she had blamed his resemblance with Kôji – though it wasn't that pronounced at all, not as much as she thought at first – because of that he seemed to be more familiar. But that couldn't be the reason...

As she heard loud voices coming from outside she listened closely. If she heard correctly, one of them belonged to Tifa. A smile crept to her face and she stood up, almost falling off the stool in her haste. She hurried to the door. Right when she arrived there, the door was opened zestfully and it was a pretty close call for her to not collide with it.

With rapid footsteps Marlene ran up to her and hugged the musician. "Onee-chan!" she called out in excitement as Naomi tousled her hair with a huge grin on her face. "I've missed you! And I'm supposed to say hi from my dad even though he doesn't know you! And we brought something for you..." she rattled on vividly.

Naomi stepped back and kneeled down. "Really? That's great." She laid both hands onto the little girl's shoulders. "Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves pretty much." Then she stood up again. "There, I'm going to help you carry your stuff inside."

Marlene took her hand. "You don't have to, Cid an Reno already do that," she explained.

"Reno's here?" the student wondered. "What about Cloud?"

"Cloud said he had to go do something, and that he will join us later," Marlene replied. "Cid took us here and Reno just arrived."

"I see." She raised an eyebrow. Naomi firmed her grip on the small hand as she opened the door to go outside but collided with someone who was on his way inside. "Gomen," she apologized automatically, shook her head slightly and looked up.

Reno returned her gaze with a wide grin. "Did you miss me that much that you already jump at me even before I entered?" he smirked and readjusted the large bag he was carrying.

Naomi snorted. "How was I supposed to know that you've been waiting behind the door to have a go at me?" she replied and nudged him lightly. "I didn't miss you since you won't leave me alone anyway. So... now move your divine body aside, so I can help get their stuff."

The Turk gave her a perplexed look but let her pass anyway before he went on to the back of the bar.

When she stepped outside she saw Tifa and a blond man she didn't know get some bags out of a car. She went over to them, Marlene in tow, and greeted them merrily.

The dark haired woman turned to face her, smiling joyfully. "Hey Naomi!" She hugged her friend, then indicated the tall blonde who watched them with a grin on his face. "This is Cid Highwind, an old friend of ours," she introduced him. "And this is Naomi Crescent. I already told you about her on our way here."

The student took the pilot's hand he stretched out to her and looked at Tifa, a slight frown on her face. "So, what did you tell him about me?" she asked with a skeptical undertone in her voice.

"Just the best, I'd bet," she heard Reno before he showed up beside her. Casually, he laid an arm around her shoulders and winked at her as she looked up. "Until now, there's nothing bad to tell about you, as far as I know," he continued with a huge grin.

"That'll change," she promised cheerfully, "whether you want it or not. When you get to know me better, you just wait."

"Well, I'm curious about it, yo." He let go of her to get some bags he could carry inside. "Good Heavens," he groaned as he heaved a large box. "What the fuck did you buy? Did you pack half of Corel?"

Tifa laughed at that. "There are just some souvenirs in this box. The town is still there. At least, I think so." She exchanged an amused glance with Naomi. "How have you been?"

The student merely shrugged. "It was okay," she retorted evasively. "I've been quite busy with the bar. Reno accompanied me from time to time. So I've had no chance to get bored."

"I hope he didn't bother you too much?" The brunette got two bags and handed one of them to Naomi.

She took it and both of them entered the bar. "Like Hell he did. Wouldn't leave me alone at all... but I can handle myself, you know." She sighed when Tifa gave her an enquiring look. "It wasn't that bad, really. But sometimes... it's just quite confusing because he resembles one of my best friends."

"I can imagine," Tifa said pityingly. "But..." She stopped. "I really do hope that you will be able to go home soon," she continued. "Though I will miss you, if you do... and Marlene will, too."

Naomi sighed again. "Yeah... I will miss you, too..." she admitted. "It's all really complicated." She grimaced morosely. "If there was any way to get home and then visit you from time to time... that would be great... though to be honest, I really doubt that."

While they brought the luggage inside they talked about some different topics. Most of the time they avoided talking about Tokyo and everything related to it as the evening went on, so the mood wouldn't get too depressing. Cid and Reno decided to stay and after some time, Tifa took the children to bed. Then she closed the bar, so they could stay for themselves while they exchanged a few anecdotes. Inevitably, the topic of Naomi's home came up a few times, too.

Cid was telling the story about his first trip to outer space right now. "... and when we were just about to escape in that capsule there was a loud – BANG! – when the tank blew up. You know, the one which Shera said to be malfuntioning..." he ended his story.

Naomi looked at him in interest. "You've really been to outer space? When was that?" she wanted to know.

"Hm," the pilot muttered. "Just about three years ago. Why?"

The pink haired woman shrugged. "Just asking," she answered. "Pure curiosity."

"What about you?" Reno asked her. "Have you ever been to outer space?" He thanked Tifa as he took a glass of beer from her.

Naomi sipped her own drink, then shook her head. "No, I haven't. But the first human to be... well... that was about fourty years ago, if I remember correctly. Nowadays, there are even people working on different space stations."

Cid was obviously impressed. "Really..." He raised his eyebrows. "There actually is something like that at your place? I admit that I envy this. Tell me more about that!" he requested.

She returned his gaze. "There's not much I can tell..." she replied. "Most of the time, I've been way too busy to give this matter any attention." She shrugged apologetically. "I've never been interested in this stuff as a child... and later on, I didn't have the time or interest to follow these things. I've just read a little in the newspapers, like when there were problems on some space stations... or when they exchanged the personnel. But that's pretty much it."

It was obvious that the pilot was a little bit disappointed about this lack of information, but he didn't tell. He rubbed his face with one hand. "Well..." he sighed. "But then there's at least some hope that we will be able to do that, too, some time. Do you also have planes?"

"Sure," she replied nonchalantly. "More than enough... fighter jets, small planes, large planes for passenger transports... rich peope also have their own private jets." Naomi lighted a cigarette as Cid watched her in amazement. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "But there are some things here which no one could even imagine at my home," she said. "Magic, for example. I've heard and read quite a lot about it, but actually it's just theory. I have never seen anyone who can actually use it..."

"Shoot me," Cid said in irritation. He leaned back in his chair. "One wouldn't think that our worlds would be that different..." He stopped. "Though I wouldn't have thought that there could be another world besides ours, until a short while ago."

"Do you think I would have reckoned to wake up in a different place one day? Somewhere that's not on Earth?" Naomi replied perplexedly. "I think you can imagine that I wasn't pleased at all. To Hell with all those theories about parallel universes and the whole quantum physics stuff... I would never have thought that something like this would ever happen to me." She sighed deeply. "Besides, our worlds are not ›that‹ different, as far as I can tell. At least the people are quite similar to ours. And the environmental conditions seem to be equal, too."

"But that's still something, yo," Reno noted. "Definitely better than nothing. And I guess, politics work differently, too?"

She gave him a thoughtful look. "Well... there are different political systems... since there are many different towns, countries and continents... and almost everywhere it works differently, I think. I don't know about most of the other countries, since I've never been there... but there are monarchies – as in countries run by a king or emperor –, democracies, dictatorships... and I don't know what else... Though the political system of a country can still change."

"Hmm..." Cid put his elbows onto the table. "How many people live there, anyway?" he wanted to know.

Naomi thought about it for a short while. "There's a population of about six billion... worldwide..." she answered slowly. "And if I remember correctly, there are a little more than fourty countries on seven continents."

"That many?" Tifa asked in surprise. "That's quite something..."

"I tell you," the student said seriously. "Mostly, when you think about the fact that less than half of the planet is inhabitable... almost two-third is covered with water. Seas, lakes and that stuff. Earth is hopelessly overpopulated."

"I see..." Reno said in reply, then he sighed. "Someone up to a card-game?"

"Which one?" Naomi wanted to know, quite glad about the change of topic. She suspected that this had been his intention – to distract her.

Tifa looked at both of them, then she smiled and stood up to get a pack of cards.

The redhead explained the rules and her expression brightened. "That's almost like our poker game, just a teensy little bit different," she rejoiced. "So this won't be a problem. I know how to play that."

After she said this, Reno exchanged a look with the pilot. "What's at stake?" he asked.

Naomi stood up. "The loser has to pay for a round," she determined, then collected the empty glasses to refill them. "What do you think about that?"

"That's a good idea," Tifa replied and opened her cash box. She took some bills and coins out of it and handed them to Naomi. "There, you've worked hard for this."

"Thanks." The student pocketed the money and returned to the table, giving out new drinks. "Don't you want to play?"

The brunette shook her head. "Someone has to take care of your drinks, anyway," she grinned. "Go ahead."

The redhead began to riffle and then deal the cards. Naomi took her set and looked at it in concentration. The rules really were almost like those of their poker game. She pursed her lips. "I'd like to have a new one," she said and put one of her cards onto the table.

They were playing for about four hours, then Cid surrendered. They had been drinking quite a lot while playing and he said that he definitely had enough. Naomi suspected that he just wanted to stop because he'd lost most of the games, though he denied that. The student, however, had just lost three of their games. She winked at Reno. "See? I told you that I know how to play."

"I never doubted that, yo," he grinned at her and tousled her hair. "But maybe you should think about going to sleep, don't you think so?"

"Ah, shoot... sleep is way overrated," she retorted and emptied her glass. "I can still keep up."

Tifa collected the empty glasses and offered that Cid could sleep in one of the upstairs rooms. The pilot accepted the offer gladly and soon disappeared, just after saying goodnight to the others. The brunette sat down at their table. "What do you think about taking the next few days off?" she said to Naomi. "You've been working almost non-stop for the past days, so you surely deserve some free time."

"That's a great idea, yo," Reno answered before the student could say something. She threw him a disapproving glare but he waved it aside. "So, you can accompany me to the Gold Saucer tomorrow."

She gave him a questioning look. "Gold Saucer? What's that? What would I want with a gold saucer?"

"It's a huge amusement park," Tifa explained. "There is the Ghost Hotel, a theater, a roller coaster and much more. It's quite hard to explain, you'd better go and see it for yourself." She looked at Reno, curiosity evident on her face. "What are you going to do there?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "Check on something," he replied vaguely. "But if Naomi's got a few days off anyway, she can accompany me, can't she. Then she will see something different than just Edge, yo. I think it's a good opportunity for her."

Naomi leaned back, folding her arms. She didn't know what he had to check at this so called ›Gold Saucer‹, but if he wanted to take her along then it couldn't really be a secret, could it. "Well, what exactly is that you're going to do there?" she wanted to know. "Are you going there anyway, for a job, or is it something else?"

The redhead didn't even care to answer, he just glanced at his watch. "For all I care, we can also leave now. Then we'll be there before tomorrow evening." He rummaged in his pocket in search for his cell phone. The student watched him in disbelief as he dialled a number. He looked up. "Don't you want to pack some clothes? I guess you want to get changed from time to time. We'll take more than two days before returning."

Stunned, she turned to Tifa who merely shrugged. "There, I've got something for you. I think you're going to need it," she said, stood up and signalled that Naomi should follow her.

Still a little confused she followed this invitation. Both women went upstairs where the brunette entered a room which the student had never been in before. "What is it that you want to give me?" she asked.

Tifa rummaged in a large box, her back turned to Naomi. Finally, she turned back to the musician. In her hands she held a few small orbs which were glowing in different colours. "I know you never used something like this," she explained, "but it's not that difficult to handle." She indicated the door. "You should take them with you. Just in case." Tifa passed Naomi and left the room.

"What is that, anyway?" the pink haired woman wanted to know as she followed Tifa to her own room. Curiously, she looked at the small orbs as her friend put them onto the bed. "And what am I supposed to do with them?"

"This," Tifa started, "is Materia."

Naomi gave her an irritated look. "What?"

Smiling, the brunette grabbed Naomi's bag and opened it, then she reached for something that was fastened at her belt. "I don't think you've got any battle experience?" She thought about it for some seconds. "No, you probably don't," she answered the question herself.

"I used to brawl quite a lot... a long time ago... but I don't think this qualifies as... battle experience," Naomi retorted slowly. "Why should I? There was no need for something like that at home. We usually left this kind of stuff to the military and professionals."

"I thought so." Tifa sighed and handed her a pair of gloves with cut off fingers and decorated with rivets. "You should be careful when you use the Materia. But I especially chose some you don't need to worry about. At least, not too much."

Naomi took the gloves with a slight frown on her face. "What am I supposed to do with that?" she asked again, then she looked down onto the leather she was holding. "Are they special in any way?"

Tifa watched her thoughtfully. "It is really difficult to explain that now," she said regretfully. "You should take this stuff with you. Let Reno explain on the way how these work." She pushed a strand of pink hair out of the guitarist's face. "You can surely imagine that those aren't just plain gloves... and Materia is used to get the effect of something like magic..."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "Magic."

Tifa nodded. "Well, actually it is more of an interaction with the planet's forces," she said. "But for lack of a better word you could say it's magic."

The guitarist sighed. "I don't know anything about this. How should I do that?"

Right at this moment they heard Reno call from downstairs. Tifa put the Materia into Naomis handbag. "There, just take them with you, you may really need them..." Then she took a ribbon out of her pocket which she tied around Naomi's arm – it was just like the one Tifa had herself. "You should take this, too. Reno will explain everything else to you." Having that said she left the room, leavin the confused student behind.

Naomi through a look at the door, then she shrugged and began to pack some clothes. She took her bag and then hurried downstairs. She'd have to have a long and serious conversation with Tifa when she got back... Definitely.

* * *

**A/N**: Wow... finally finished this... and I hope the next chapter will come soon, too.


	9. Moving

**Chapter 9**

_Moving_

The guitarist was just shouldering her handbag as she reentered the bar where Reno was waiting for her. "I'm ready," she said in an undefinable tone which she'd picked up from Shinya. "Can we go now?"

He turned to her in surprise. "Sure." Grinning, he tousled her hair but she just pulled her head away and watched him as if trying to figure him out. He raised an eyebrow and the grin slowly vanished from his face. "Okay, let's go."

Tifa hugged Naomi goodbye. "Take care," she said. "And have fun."

The musician nodded curtly and tapped her friend's forehead lightly. "When I'm back, we need to talk. I've got a bone to pick with you and there's no way for you to back out." Saying this, she turned around and followed Reno to the door.

He laid an arm around her shoulders, opened the door and led her outside. "What's up? You in a bad mood?" he wanted to know.

"No." She stopped and considered him with a thoughtful glance. "It's nothing," she finally muttered. "Let's go."

He furrowed his brow but didn't say anything. After they walked in silence for some time, he took a right turn. It was bugging him for some reason that she seemed so indifferent right now. He wasn't used to her being like this. Did he do something to make her mad?

"How are we going to get to this... ›Gold Saucer‹?" she finally broke the silence between them.

"We're taking a Gold Chocobo for now, at least from here on, this way we will be faster," he answered, relieved that she finally decided to talk to him again.

"A... pardon me, what?" She turned to him, eyes widened in irritation. "Is that some kind of special car or something like that?"

It cost him some effort to restrain himself from laughing, but he wasn't exactly successful and tried to turn his laugh into a cough. "It's not a car," he said. "Come, I'll show you."

Confused, she followed him along the street until they arrived at some small building which reminded her of a stable. "Is it a horse?" she guessed as she looked at the wooden doors.

He gave her a questioning look. "What's a horse?" he wanted to know.

"Obviously no chocobo," she countered.

They exchanged a challenging glance until he gave in with a deep sigh. He pushed the bar aside and opened the door. Reno indicated her to be silent and entered.

Slightly irritated, she followed him inside and watched him get some greens out of a large box. She didn't dare say anything as he went over to a large crate and entered slowly.

Meanwhile she stayed at the entrance and watched the redhead silently. It was one of those moments when she really realized that he didn't resemble Kôji as much as she'd thought in the beginning. After some time he looked around the corner and beckoned her to him.

She followed his request, tilted her head and looked at him quite attentively. As she stepped up to him, he laid an arm around her shoulders and pushed her onwards, directly to a large ratite whose beak, talons and plumage shimmered golden.

Impressed, she tilted her head back and raised her eyebrows a little. "So, that's a chocobo?" she whispered. "Somehow it looks like an ostrich, just taller."

He lightly patted its neck. "Yes, that's a chocobo, yo," he answered just as quietly. "With this, we're going to get anywhere quite fast. And Sam knows the way."

Naomi wasn't able to completely bite back a laugh. "Sam? Who came up with that name?" she asked in amusement, then she regained her composure. "If you say so... I'll have to believe you."

He tousled her hair, then checked the saddlebags before he turned to her again. The redhead helped Naomi to get onto the chocobo, then he sat up behind her and laid both arms around the guitarist.

She turned halfway and gave him an undefinable look before she looked back forward, but she didn't say anything and lightly leaned against him. "Say, it's tamed, isn't it," she asked uncertainly.

"It is," he murmured reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"I don't," she answered in indignation. "But... discretion is the better part of valour, you know."

"Sure," he muttered. "But you really don't have to worry. Even if I didn't have to promise to Tifa that I will take care of you, I would do it anyway."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why... what?" he replied as she made herself more comfortable. "Why she forced this promise with terrible threats? That's obvious, isn't it. She's worried about you, yo."

"I wasn't talking about that," she growled. "Though sometimes she has a strange way of showing that she's worried."

A quiet laughter came from him. "Yeah... that's true, yo."

For some time they went on in silence, finally she sighed. "What is it? Don't you want to answer my question?"

Reno took some seconds before he said something. His arms tightened involuntarily around her waist. "Because I don't want anything to happen to you," he said calmly. "And that could happen pretty quickly, if you're not careful."

Naomi thought about that. "What is supposed to happen, if I'm not careful?" she wanted to know. "Are there any bandits roaming the place? I think, if they're not too many I could take on them." She cracked her knuckles menacingly. "Not that I'm proud of it, but until a couple of years ago I used to have few or more fights. Some of them I picked myself."

"You used to fight with people?" he asked in amusement. "To be honest, I can't imagine that." Then he became serious again. "When did you stop?"

"Right after my family had that accident," she answered darkly. "And I would appreciate if you could stop answering my questions with counterquestions." She sighed again.

"I'm sorry, yo," he muttered, being vague about the details on what he meant exactly. "There are some bandits here, yo. Though I don't doubt that you can frighten them." He leaned his head against hers. "But I rather meant that most places are also roaming with monsters. Without weapons and a chocobo you don't stand much of a chance."

That was a considerable explanation. Now she understood why Tifa had given her those gloves and Materia. Why she'd asked Reno to take care of her and why they were riding this chocobo instead of taking a car. And of course, why Tifa'd asked her about her battle experience. She told Reno about it.

He didn't seem to be surprised at all. "Of course, I can show you how to handle Materia, yo," he said. "I wanted to set up camp soon, anyway. Otherwise, we would travel all night and a little bit of sleep wouldn't hurt us, too."

Naomi uttered an affirmative growl. "But ain't it too risky to camp outdoors?" she asked and tilted her head to look at him.

Reno returned her gaze. "It's okay, nothing will happen to you..." he said quietly. "It's quite obvious that you didn't grow up here, otherwise you would take all of this for granted, just as other people do." As she raised an eyebrow he shook his head lightly. "I don't blame you, yo. But... sometimes it happens that I don't think about the fact that you don't know about things natural for me."

"I know," she muttered. "I'm still trying to get used to all of this." She pushed herself into a more comfortable position and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I am really grateful for your help, you know... without you, I would be completely lost here." Her eyes began to droop. The alcohol, work, the advanced hour and the constant rhythm of the chocobo took their toll on her and she could barely stay awake.

It didn't take very long for her to fall asleep. She couldn't remember dreaming anything as she was woken up by Reno some time later. "Hey..." he said quietly as he shook her lightly. "Wake up, sweetie... or I can't set up camp for tonight."

"Hmm..." she grumbled and tried to sit up straight. With a barely stifled yawn she rubbed her eyes and turned to face him. "Are we there yet?" she asked sleepily.

With a wide grin he pushed a pink strand out of her face. "No, we aren't. But we need to rest, yo. You do, anyway, the way you look." He winked at her. "Just stay there, then nothing will happen to you." Reno got off the chocobo and took some things out of the saddlebags. Still halfway asleep, Naomi didn't really notice what he was doing. She wasn't able to estimate how long it took before he nudged her. "I'm ready. Let me help you get off, yo."

With the help of the redhead she was able to get off the chocobo without hurting herself. "What about Sam?" she mumbled as she turned around and looked at the chocobo.

"You don't need to worry about Sam... there are quite enough chocobos living in the wild," he explained. "Sam may be bred and thus tamed, but she will manage herself." After this, he led her to the tent which he had put up before. In there were two sets of mats, pillows and blankets.

She blinked sleepily and squatted to get out of her shoes. After she had slipped out of them she was almost awake. Naomi narrowed her eyes and looked up at Reno who had already stripped down to his boxers. "That was fast," she muttered in irritation.

A wide grin grew on his face. "Actually... no. It's just that you're too slow," he winked at her. "That's unusual for you." His grin grew even wider. "I can help you, if you want to."

The guitarist raised an eyebrow at him and took care of her socks. "You wish," she muttered and kneaded her strained feet. "You're just having some ulterior motives again, don't you."

"Why again?" the redhead asked in irritation as he sat down on a mat. "I just wanted to be nice, that's all, yo," he pouted. "And the last time... I didn't have any ulterior motives in the beginning. That was more... an impulse, you know. Anyway, you could have said no, right?"

For some seconds she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It's just... everything is so confusing right now. I know that I shouldn't take it out on you." With a deep sigh she turned to face him. "I'm really sorry."

He considered her with a thoughtful look. "I know that, yo," he finally said. "If I didn't know that, I would have probably sent you to hell already," he added with a smirk. "But... actually, I like you just the way you are."

"Actually," she replied in amusement. Then she took off her clothes until she just wore her shirt and underwear before she went over to the second mat. "Well, at least, this is worth something," she grinned as she slipped under the blanket.

Reno propped himself up on his elbow and looked down on her. "You can't hate me either, or you wouldn't be here," he answered, then he moved closer to her.

"Who said that I hate you?" She pulled a disbelieving grimace. "Nonsense!" Naomi shook her head. "But you're right, I wouldn't be here if I did. Then I wouldn't even talk to you. At least, not more than was absolutely necessary." She yawned heartily. "But tomorrow you will show me how to handle this Materia stuff, okay?"

"Sure." Reno stretched his arm out and pulled her close to him.

She turned around onto her side, her back turned to him, and snuggled deep into the blanket. "I don't get how you can put up with me," she murmured sleepily. "Sometimes, I even manage to get on my own nerves... how you can handle this is a big mystery to me."

"Well... somehow I manage, yo," he replied vaguely and squeezed her lightly. "You can try to find out by yourself how I do that."

She growled pleasurably. "Hm, maybe I will," she said quietly. "Eventually. But definitely not now."

* * *

**A/N**: This chapter took like forever, it seems. But finally, it's finished and I am already working on the next one.


	10. Change

_**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far. And all the other people who seem to like this story. I know it took some time to finish this chapter, but since I've had quite a few ideas for later chapters, it wasn't easy to get this one done. T.T_

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_Change_

Naomi felt like she'd fallen asleep just a few minutes ago as the redhead woke her up again. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and then blinked sleepily at him. He was already dressed and had packed most of their stuff. "Wha..." she mumbled. "That late already...?" She struggled to get up and almost fell over, stumbling over the blanket.

Reno couldn't suppress a grin. "You're really kind of cute when you're still half asleep, yo," he mocked her.

"So?" she muttered as she put on her jeans and then looked around for her socks. After finally finding them she put them on and then slid into her shoes. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "I could definitely do with a coffee right now..." the student grumbled.

He grimaced in amusement and turned away from her, surely in hope that he could hide it from her.

"I saw that," she murmured as she stood up. "I would prefer if we could have some breakfast soon... or you will experience living Hell," she promised grimly before stepping up to him to poke him.

He turned back to her, a wide grin on his face. He looked like he had a hard time to not burst out laughing. "It won't take long until we get to Junon, yo. Then you can have your breakfast."

"Wherever or whatever that ›Junon‹ thing is..." she muttered. "What's so funny anyway, huh?" she wanted to know. Grumbling, she trudged past him and out of the tent. With a heartfelt yawn she stretched and narrowed her eyes. "Could get quite warm today," she commented grumpily as she took a look at her clothes.

"I think so," Reno replied after following her outside, then he started to strike the tent.

"Do you want me to help you?" she asked him.

He turned his head to look at her. "No, you shouldn't do that, yo," he chuckled. "You should better wake up first... or we will have a desaster. I actually wanted to be able to use that tent more often."

"Haha... very funny," she growled, then she rolled up her trouser legs. "I'm not that bad, you know."

"Yes, I've seen that." He was already halfway through with striking the tent. "But... don't worry about it. I think it's cute, yo." He winked at her with a grin on his face and finally packed up the rest.

"Sure," she said with a raised eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're trying to pull my leg."

"Actually... no." He tousled her hair and put everything into the saddlebags of the chocobo which was peacefully eating some greens Reno had probably given it before.

Naomi snorted, but didn't say anything about it. She crossed her arms and watched the redhead until he turned to her, with his arms akimbo. She raised an eyebrow and he watched her from top to bottom, then he stepped up to her.

She wanted to step back instinctively but he was way too fast for her. Right before she was able to react he had hoisted her up and put her onto the chocobo.

"Hey," she protested. He ignored it, though, and vaulted himself onto the bird, right behind her. As soon as he sat it began to move.

She leaned forward and turned around, a frown apparent on her fave, but the only thing she received from him was a huge grin. Sighing, she shook her head. She was definitely still too tired to deal with him and she didn't have breakfast yet. So it would be better to just keep quiet. Otherwise, it would only turn into an argument. And that wasn't necessary. It wasn't his fault that she was almost unbearable before she'd had any food.

With a sigh she ran a hand through her hair. "Are we there yet?"

"No, but soon," he replied calmly.

Naomi pulled a face and leaned her head back. "Does it take long?"

"No."

"How long, then?" She raised an eyebrow when he sighed.

"Can't tell you exactly," he muttered.

The guitarist bit on her lower lip but didn't say any more right now. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to annoy him too much. Even though she was getting impatient and finally wanted to eat something. They were anywhere in nowhere after all – at least, in her opinion. And since she didn't know her way around she would be in a real fix if he just dropped her off in the boonies because she was getting on his nerves.

For some time they were both silent until she leaned back with a deep sigh. She was tempted to ask him again how far they would still have to go, but she didn't want to nettle him unnecessarily. She felt him stiffen as she leaned against him. She knitted her eyebrows and turned a little bit to look at him. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he muttered through clenched teeth and stubbornly gazed straight ahead.

She slid a bit to the side, so she could watch him better. "Did I do something to you?" she wanted to know. She definitely hadn't been nagging that much that she wanted to eat something. What was wrong with him?

He closed his eyes momentarily and inhaled sharply.

"What?" She shifted a little more but he laid an arm around her waist and gave her a look out of the corner of his eyes which she couldn't interpret at all.

"Don't... do that," he hissed silently.

Naomi raised her eyebrows and looked at him in irritation. "Huh?"

"Do me one favour..." he said stressing every word, "and just sit still, okay?" As he saw her blank look he sighed. "Please."

For a moment she just stared at him, bewildered, but that it slowly began to dawn on her what he wanted to tell her. As it finally clicked she blushed and her eyes widened. "Oh," she muttered and jerkily turned back again. She felt his arms flex on her waist. "I'm sorry..." Somehow, she felt sheepish about misinterpreting his reaction.

Until they arrived in Junon both of them didn't say anything and followed their own string of thoughts. Naomi tried hard to practically not move at all, since she feared he could get the idea to just let her walk. As the chocobo finally stopped she felt as if she'd been sitting there for a few days. But that was probably just because of her lack of sleep. And maybe the fact that she wasn't used to riding – she'd never even tried to ride a horse back home.

Reno dismounted and stretched a hand out to help her get off. Thankfully she took it and clumsily climbed down. This, however, finally brought a grin to his face and she was relieved about the fact that this would be the end of the awkward atmosphere for now.

He led her through the streets of Junon and she looked around, frowning. Somehow she got a strange feeling from this town which she just couldn't classify. After some time they arrived at a huge building.

Instead of entering through the main entrance they went around the corner where there was a huge gate. After they entered there were some chocobos in different colours to be seen.

"How many races are there?" Naomi asked quietly as Reno led Sam into a crate. A stable boy ran up to him and saluted to the redhead, whereas the guitarist raised an eyebrow.

"Take good care of her, yo," he said to the servant and turned to her. "Well..." he started thoughtfully, then he showed her quickly around. "There are blue chocobos, green, white, red, violet, black and golden ones... and the simple yellow ones," he explained. "I think there are more but I'm not too sure about that, I can't keep track of them all."

"Is there a special meaning to the colour?" she wanted to know.

He nodded. "The yellow chocobos are living in the wild, the other ones are bred. Many of them are especially bred for the races. Blue chocobos can cross rivers, but they aren't any good at crossing mountains. For this, the green ones are better, or even the black ones. The golden ones can even cross oceans."

"So... only the golden ones can fly, huh?"

"No. No chocobo can fly."

She gave him a disbelieving look but didn't say anything. This sure was strange. But just because she couldn't imagine that an animal walking on two legs – not even capable of flying – was really able to walk on water didn't mean that it really couldn't.

He also dropped the subject and they went outside before entering the huge building through a side entrance. He closed the door behind them and pulled a face. Naomi looked at him questioningly but it took just a few seconds for her to receive an explanation for his reaction.

"Reno!" an indignant female voice was to be heard, shortly after that a small woman with short blond hair followed who – just like Reno and Rude – was wearing a dark blue suit. Thus Naomi assumed that she was also one of the Turks.

"Hi, 'Lena," the addressee replied in a bored tone as she stepped up to him.

The blonde poked a finger to his chest. "You're late! Again!" she hissed as she narrowed her eyes and looked daggers at him.

The redhead merely shrugged as if the whole thing didn't concern him at all. "I've been busy." He laid an arm around the guitarist's shoulders, then he simply passed his comrade with her, through the door which the woman had passed before.

"I see," the blonde huffed at him and followed them. "You should rather do your job instead of fooling around with women all the time! Honestly, Reno, I definitely don't get how you got that far with your attitude... did you at least take care of –" She wasn't able to finish her sentence, since Reno had turned around quickly and drew himself up to his full height, lowering at her.

"Elena," he growled morosely, "you're definitely talking too much."

She snorted. "You almost sound like Tseng."

"If he says that too, then I suppose it's true, yo," he muttered and turned away from her. He stopped in front of Naomi who gave him a disapproving look with her arms crossed. "Don't listen to her, yo," he told her. "She likes to blow things out of all proportions."

The pink haired woman just raised an eyebrow at that. This sounded too much like what she knew from Kôji to merely ignore it. She sighed and shook her head. She shouldn't worry about it. She was supposed to concentrate on finding a way to get back home. It wasn't her concern what the redhead was doing anyway. At least, she would want it that way.

Reno glared at Elena, then he led the student right to a staircase which they climbed and then entered a room that looked like an office. An Asian looking man sat behind the desk and was just signing something. As he noticed the newcomers he looked up. He nodded at Reno and then he gave Naomi a questioning look.

The redhead introduced them quickly.

"I see," Tseng said simply and watched the musician intently. "Elena?"

"Yes?" The blonde gave her boss a look of utmost admiration which said that she would fulfill any of his wishes.

"Please take care of our guest. I have matters to discuss with Reno."

"Sure!" She indicated that Naomi should follow her.

She complied with her request, but with a frown.

"Oh... and please take care of this, too," the redhead added sickly sweet as he indicated Naomi's head. "That pink is way too flashy, yo. We wouldn't anything to happen to her just because she stands out so much."

Both women gave him an annoyed look and left the room without saying anything in return. After they descended the stairs, the blonde took a right turn. "Well..." Naomi started apprehensively, "you really like that Tseng guy, right?"

The other one looked at her, shocked. "What makes you think that?"

Naomi shrugged. "It was kind of obvious."

Elena pulled a face. "Yes... but the others don't take me seriously at all... particularly Reno," she snarled.

"Figures," Naomi sighed. "Is he always like... I don't know..." She got stuck for the right word. But she didn't get the chance to find one. It didn't take her very long to regret in some way that she started a conversation at all. Though Elena took care of her in a manner of speaking – meaning that she got something to eat and her hair didn't stay pink, though she'd really liked that colour – but as Reno entered the room they occupied about one and a half hour later she felt like her ears would start bleeding soon. Naomi was kind of glad that he was there, since his mere presence kept Elena from ranting on.

The redhead looked at her in surprise and was just about to say something.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "Where's the bathroom?" she wanted to know. "I'd like to take a shower."

Elena told her how to get there and the musician muttered an excuse as she left the room.

On her way to the bathroom on the upper floor she met Rude. He nodded to greet her and she returned the gesture. She quickly went upstairs and disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She could hear Reno's laugh from downstairs. Apparently, he just learned about the reason for her quick escape.

Sighing, she put some hair out of her face. Now she understood why Elena was constantly told that she was talking too much. Naomi could only emphasize this statement. She'd never met someone who could talk that long without a pause before. She had the feeling that the blond Turk had even told her a few things she wasn't supposed to know about.

Seeing that, she took as much time as possible while she took a shower. When she was finished she firstly contemplated herself in the mirror. She initially wrinkled her nose. The new colour was just unfamiliar to her. In her inventiveness, Elena had just bleached her hair, rather fair. At least, it was measured. And if she thought about it, it wasn't that bad at all. Though it reminded her of Luca, since her best friend was naturally blond. With a deep sigh she turned away from the sight.

She dressed slowly and then opened the door. She took a deep breath as she left the bathroom and descended the stairs. After taking a shower she felt refreshed and not as tired as before.

As soon as she entered the room, Reno held out a cup of coffee to her. "This colour suits you, yo," he said. She looked at him in surprise. "Thanks," she said quietly as she took the drink from him. Then she sat down at the table. Elena was nowhere to be seen. Rude wasn't there as well.

"What did she tell you, actually?" the redhead asked with a strange tone in his voice.

Naomi put her elbows onto the table and took a sip from her coffee. "Way too much," she admitted with a sigh. "I never thought that just one person can tell that much at once." She tilted her head. "And there was me thinking that my best friend was talkative."

Reno couldn't suppress a quiet laugh. "And what did she say?"

The guitarist frowned. "Well, mainly she was complaining about you not taking her seriously, since she started later than you did."

He leaned back, surprised. "That's all?"

She merely shrugged. "Seriously? I don't really know. At times, I just spaced out, since I wasn't able to listen anymore... maybe it was just because I was really tired."

This caused him to laugh again. "Anyway, are you afraid of heights?" he then wanted to know.

"No, why?" she replied skeptically.

"Because from here on we're taking the chopper to get to the Gold Saucer, yo," he explained with a wide grin. "If you were afraid of heights, that would be quite disadvantageous."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why the chopper? What about Sam?"

"I wanted to grant her a rest and we're going to be a little faster with the chopper. It's just that there wasn't one available for me in Edge, but now we can take one from here, yo." He casually laid an arm over the back of his chair. "Rude and Elena will be coming along, too."

Naomi took another sip from her coffee. "Will the flight take long?"

"Not very long, yo," he replied. "You are free to try to sleep, if you want to. I will wake you as soon as we arrive there."

The musician nodded thoughtfully. She remembered Elena telling her that Reno was a pretty good pilot. As she watched him sitting in his chair, one arm over the back, legs crossed, he didn't give the impression of someone who wouldn't take anything seriously. But from what she knew until now this was just a facade. Apparently, there was much more to him than met the eye. She would try to find out how seriously he would take his promise to take care of her while they were at the Gold Saucer.

* * *

_**A/N**__: Okay. I know this is not the best chapter in this story. And I really had a hard time writing it. After I was almost finished I decided to rewrite the whole thing. But this didn't make it that much better, I fear. It is just a filler anyway. Since I didn't want to leave to much out, it was necessary. I am really sorry about it being not as good as it was supposed to be. _


	11. Gold Saucer

**Chapter 11**

_Gold Saucer_

Naomi was tired like Hell. But she didn't mind since she was highly enjoying herself. It had been a really long time since she last visited an amusement park or a game center. Mostly because she had been working almost non-stop, which hadn't left too much room for this kind of fun.

The Gold Saucer was great! She'd never seen anything like this before. There was pretty much everything here! And of course she wanted to see all of it. This place combined a game center and an amusement park, somehow, and it was just huge!

She felt kind of sorry for Reno who showed her around the whole time and hadn't been able to do what he actually came for. He said he didn't mind, though. Rude and Elena were somewhere around to take care of some stuff and would call him if need be. To tell the truth, she was quite glad that he accompanied her. If she wandered this place alone she was sure to get lost.

They'd been at the Ghost Square first thing after they arrived. Naomi loved it. Sure, it was quite obvious that there were no real ghosts and stuff – though she'd kind of hoped for it – but it was still cute. She nearly had a heart attack when a plastic skeleton unexpectedly jumped out at her as she passed its wardrobe. This caused Reno to make fun of her.

The Second Hand Shop was easily her favourite. She thought the hands in the barrel at the door which pointed right at the shop were a neat idea. As soon as she caught sight of them she squealed in delight, making Reno jump. Naomi couldn't stop grinning as she returned the favour in picking on him.

They dropped their stuff at the hotel and set of for the Chocobo Square. Watching one of the races, she was surprised to see that those birds really came in about every possible colour, just as the redhead had told her in Junon. He suggested that she could participate in a race if she wanted to. She pulled a face. She didn't even want to think about it since her legs still felt sore from the last ride.

Their next stop was the Round Square. He looked at her for a moment. "Wait a sec, okay? I won't take long, yo," he said right before he took off.

She blinked in irritation. Then she shrugged it off and looked around. There was a really nice Gondola that was supposed to go all around the Gold Saucer. With a sigh she stepped up to the counter and asked for a map.

"Hey there, beautiful," an all too familiar voice spoke up behind her as she received the requested item.

She held her breath and her heartbeat quickened a little, though she tried to stay calm. It couldn't be. ›No,‹ she thought desperately. This wouldn't happen twice. Not even to her.

He nonchalantly laid an arm around her shoulder. "I have to say, blonde women are the most beautiful, you even more so. Can I tempt you to a romantic love ride on this oh so lovely Gondola with the greatest guitarist that ever walked this planet and –"

He stopped in mid-sentence as Naomi rolled her eyes with a sigh and finally turned around to face him. There could be no mistake. This time it was really him. "Quit that bullshit, Kôji," she muttered and raised her eyebrows, trying to bite back a laugh. "As if you cared about the hair colour of your women, anyway."

The red haired guy gaped at her. "Naomi?" he whispered slowly. But he got over his initial shock fairly quick. "Nee-chan!" he called out as he hugged her tightly. "It's great to see you again!"

She had to smile as she returned the embrace. "Yes, it is," she replied. "What are you doing here?" She was really happy to see her friend, but it struck her as strange that he was there at all.

"Got stuck here somehow," he said as he loosened his grip and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Just like you, I suppose?"

She nodded. "I still don't know how I got here, just that I was found in a destroyed house. But I'm trying to find a way to get back home," she told him. "You alone?"

Kôji shook his head. "Yû is somewhere around here, too." He gave her a wide grin. "But I'm glad that you're okay... So, what about this new colour of yours?" He tugged at one of her now blond strands. "I didn't recognize you at first."

"I noticed," she replied dryly. "I have to get used to it, though," she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Just changed it today."

"Huh." The guitarist considered her for a moment. "Suits you."

"Thanks," she smiled at him. Then she looked around. Reno took longer than she thought he would.

"What's up? You waiting for someone?" Kôji wanted to know.

"Actually, yes," she said distractedly. She had finally spotted the redhead and waved to get his attention. He saw it and started to make his way towards them. "I made a few really nice friends here," she continued as she turned back to Kôji and put his hands off her shoulders.

He frowned at her. "It's good to know that you're not wandering this place alone... I heard the Turks are here, looking for someone. You should be careful."

"Huh?" Naomi was confused. Why did he worry about that? "What about them?" Her friend didn't seem too happy about this.

Kôji sighed. "I don't know them personally, but I heard they're bad. Like, assassins and stuff. They might be looking for you. Or me. Since we're... new here." He gave her a concerned look.

She had to bite back a laugh. "No, they're not," she said firmly.

"What do you mean? They're not... what?" Now it was his turn to be confused.

"Looking for me. At least not like you think. And they're not bad."

At this moment, Reno stepped up to them and cleared his throat. "Who's not bad?" he asked, a frown appearing on his face as he eyed them suspiciously.

"You, of course," she replied airily and turned to face him. She didn't like the look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Sure." His expression softened a little. "Here, I've got something for you, yo," he said and handed her a large crêpe filled with strawberry cream – at least that was what it looked like to Naomi.

She was delighted as she took it. "Well," she said. Kôji laid an arm around her shoulders, rather protectively, and she shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think you've met before." She pushed Kôji's arm away. "This is Kôji, one of my best friends who also got stuck here, though no one knows how that is possible... And this is Reno," she introduced them.

"You didn't tell me that you're friends with the Turks," the red haired musician said accusingly.

Naomi sighed in exasperation. She felt the urge to shove the crêpe into his face. "Kôji," she muttered determinedly. "I'm friends with one of them. What's so bad about that? They're okay. Whatever you may have heard of them doesn't make them bad people, even if I wish Elena wouldn't talk that much!"

Reno couldn't suppress a laugh as he tousled her hair. "I'm flattered," he grinned at her. "So, this is the infamous Kôji you mistook me for, huh?"

Kôji considered him for a few seconds. "I don't think he looks like me," he finally stated. "And I'm sorry." He nudged Naomi lightly. "You can't blame me for being worried about you."

"I know," she mumbled, having just taken a huge bite off the crêpe. It tasted a little different from the ones she was used to. "But when I first met him I just saw the red hair and his grin, and since I missed you guys so much it was just natural that I thought it was you."

"Okay," the guitarist sighed. "I'm really sorry, but I've got to go now, or else Yû will have my head," he said with a look at his watch. "You should visit the theater soon. We're working there at the moment." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Yû will be thrilled to see you. And your director wouldn't hate it either."

"He's not ›my‹ director," she said pointedly. "I just happen to be acquainted with him. And you didn't tell me that he's here, too."

Kôji laughed at that. "Sure. I forgot," he grinned. "And you," he turned to Reno, giving him a threatening look, "you better take good care of our little sis here." With that he turned around and was about to leave, but paused. "You will have to tell us absolutely everything when you drop by," he said to Naomi. "What you've done for the past few weeks, who you've met besides the Turks – just everything." He winked at her before he finally left.

Naomi shook her head in disbelief. He hadn't changed one bit.

"Ready to go?" Reno asked casually as he laid an arm around her shoulders. He was satisfied that she didn't remove it. He led her to the Gondola and they entered. "So, what did he say before I came?" he wanted to know.

"Huh?" She gave him a puzzled look. "Oh... well, he just said that he heard the Turks were bad... and you might be looking for me, so I should be careful," she replied with a shrug. "Said you were assassins or something like that."

He gave her a stern look. "What if we were?"

She pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. "Well..." She sighed. "To me, you seem to be perfectly nice people who never harmed me at all. So I'm not worried."

"You know," he started and bit his lower lip. "There's no reason for you to be worried. Maybe... if you'd been here a few years ago and someone told me to..." He paused and heaved a deep sigh. "What I want to tell you is... he's not completely wrong, but many things have changed and we've been out of the actual assassination business for quite some time now."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "So you really killed people?" she asked quietly. She just couldn't imagine Reno doing something like this. Besides... she couldn't really believe it. Sure, she knew this stuff from movies and novels... but that someone as nice as him would... no.

"It was a job and it was either do or die. Like I said, we actually don't do this stuff anymore. Most of it, at least. We're still investigating things if necessary, though. Things used to be different a few years ago..." he explained. He looked at her apprehensively. "Do you hate me now?"

For a moment she was silent and thought about it. "No," she finally said. "No, I don't hate you. You've always been good to me. I have no reason to hate you." She decidedly didn't think about the assassination part. That was in the past and she didn't want this fact to affect her too much.

He heaved a deep sigh and it was one of relief. "Lucky me, yo," he muttered. He leaned back and smiled at her. "Who is that director your friend was talking about?" he then wanted to know.

The guitarist pulled a face. "Markus Jansen," she replied. "I asked you to look for him, remember?"

"So, he really is here," Reno stated with a contented look. "Seems like my job here's done already." Upon noticing her irritation he cracked a grin. "I heard that someone new was here, someone whose description matched the picture you gave me," he told her. "I wanted to confirm if it's really him, yo. Well, it is. Job finished. That leaves more time to have fun."

Naomi gave him a curious look and poked him. "What kind of fun are you talking about?" she asked suspiciously.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Like this," he said with a vague gesture. "You didn't even take one look out of the window. Where's the point in riding the Gondola if you don't?"

She couldn't suppress a giggle. "You know," she said as she sensed his confusion. "Kôji didn't recognize me at first because of the new hair colour and tried to flirt with me. He wanted to tempt me to a," she took a deep breath to refrain from laughing, "romantic love ride on this oh so lovely Gondola," she mimicked her friend with an air of amusement. She couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

"Don't act like this is so ridiculous, yo," Reno said in mock hurt as he laid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"Coming from him it actually is... sort of," she giggled. She leaned against his chest and tried to calm down. "At least it is as far as I'm concerned."

The redhead let his fingers glide through her hair. "And what did you tell him?" he asked quietly.

Gasping for breath she wiped away a tear of laughter. "I told him to quit that bullshit. That was when he finally realized it was me." She grinned at him. "He was over the moon to see me again, though he didn't get his date. He's like a big brother to me, so I wouldn't consider a date with him at all."

"Hm." He gave her a thoughtful look. "What about me?"

"Huh?"

"Would you go out on a date with me?"

She knitted her brows. Was he serious? "Well..." Naomi tilted her head a little. "I never thought about it." Which was not really true at all. But who cared? "Sure, why not?" Damn. What was she saying? She shouldn't get too involved with someone here... She blushed and leaned her head on his shoulder, hoping he didn't notice.

He did, though he didn't tell her. He knew it would embarrass her even more. "So can I assume that we're on a date now?" he asked quietly.

Naomi shrugged slightly. "I think so," she muttered. When she thought about it one could really consider it a date. It made her feel a little nervous. She knew that this wasn't too good of an idea. But she hadn't been on a date for an eternity. Who would have thought that she would go out on one in this place? With Reno, of all people? If he hadn't asked she would never have given it a serious thought. Not even after the night they'd spent together. Well, he never approached her after that, so she'd actually considered it to have been a one night stand. Which would have been better. Definitely.

"Are you okay?" he whispered as his fingers brushed her cheek, making her shiver lightly and her heart did a double take.

›Not good, not good, definitely a bad idea,‹ she thought but didn't voice any of her thoughts. She nodded weakly. Her blush deepened.

He gently put a finger under her chin and lifted her head so he could look at her. "Really?" As he saw her blushing violently he smirked. He seemed to have more of an effect on her than she usually let on. Reno looked into her startlingly green eyes and lowered his head.

Her head was spinning as he covered her lips with his own. She instantly closed her eyes and put a hand on his neck to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips and soon his tongue caressed hers. It was a sensation that sent a chill down her spine. Sure, they'd kissed before, but it definitely hadn't felt quite like this one.

As the Gondola stopped they were disappointed that they had to break their kiss. The redhead ran a hand through her hair and gave her a quick kiss before they got out.

Naomi cleared her throat, still feeling dizzy. "What are we going to do now?" she asked tentatively.

He took her hand and smiled down at her. "There's a really nice restaurant, not too far from the theater," he said. "Does that sound okay?"

She reciprocated his smile. "Sounds great!" she exclaimed. "Dinner with you, seeing my friends, then spend some time alone... couldn't be better!" ›Besides going home,‹ she added in her thoughts.

He drew her into a tight hug and rested his chin on her head. "What do you think your friends gonna say about you dating a Turk?"

Naomi snorted. "They didn't approve of my last boyfriend and I didn't care too much about it," she replied with a muffled voice. "I dated him anyway." She buried her face in his clothes and breathed in his scent.

Reno stroked her back and chuckled. "Well then, let's go."

* * *

Reno had been right, the restaurant was really nice. With its cosy little tables and a beautiful decoration, Naomi thought it was just lovely. The food was great, too. They talked for a long time as they sat in a corner that granted them some privacy. They also had a few drinks, starting with wine, finally ending up with something like tequila. This helped her to ignore the fact that she felt a little uncomfortable about the whole situation. In the end, she forgot completely about it. As they left Naomi felt a little tipsy. Reno didn't seem to be affected at all. Apparently, he could hold his liquor better than her.

"There we are," he announced as they arrived at the Event Square.

She looked at the sign that read the dates of the current show. The next one would be tomorrow. "Too bad," she sighed. "I was curious to see what he came up with."

"Well, at least they dropped that ›Loveless‹ crap, yo," Reno muttered. "That was about the only show they had for years, though the last act was missing until the end."

"What was it about?" she wanted to know as she laid an arm around his thin waist.

"Can't tell exactly," he replied. "Something about a Goddess and revenge. I'm not too sure about it, yo. Never bothered to watch anyway."

Upon entering she looked around and soon noticed some people clearing the stage. She instantly recognized Kôji because of his bright red hair. A grin grew on her face as she stepped up to them. "Hi!"

"Now, look who's there!" Kôji exclaimed as he looked up.

A brown haired guy turned around. "Do mine eyes deceive me?" he said and jumped off the stage.

"I would say they don't," she replied and let go of Reno to hug her friend.

"Damn, you can't imagine how much we missed you, Nee-chan," Yûichi said before he held her at arm's length. "You look great."

"Thanks," she grinned at him. "And I do think I can imagine... at least I missed you guys enough to mistake Reno for Kôji when I first met him."

"You did?" Yûichi said with a laugh and it was only then that he saw the Turk at all. "Hi, I'm Shinoda Yûichi," he introduced himself and shook Reno's hand. "Well, if I don't look too closely I can see how that could happen."

"He doesn't look like me at all," Kôji grumbled as he joined them, making Yûichi and Naomi laugh at him.

"Don't mind him," the vocalist grinned. "He's just in a bad mood because he didn't manage to get a date since we're here."

"No surprise there," Naomi giggled. "With the attitude he tried with me earlier, he won't get one in ages."

"You tried to get at Nee-chan?" the singer turned on his best friend. "Are you crazy? You just said you met her."

"How was I supposed to know it was her?" Kôji muttered. "With that new hair colour and stuff?"

Yû shook his head. "So... I'm surprised that you're here too, but actually I'm quite glad about it. How have you been?"

Naomi told them in a few words how she woke up in Edge and tried to call them. How she met Tifa and the others and that she ended up at the ›7th Heaven‹. And that she was now taking a vacation here with Reno, Rude and Elena.

"The Turks, huh," Yûichi said thoughtfully. "Don't get me wrong, mate, but I've heard a lot of bad stuff about you."

"That may all be true," Reno replied, "but maybe some of that is just overexaggerated."

"They're really nice people," Naomi added. "I happen to like them."

The vocalist tousled her hair. "It's okay, sis. As long as you're happy it's fine with me. He doesn't strike me as a bad person anyway. Though I'm not in the position to judge that." He turned to Reno. "Just don't hurt her, or you will have us to answer to that," he promised.

"I wasn't planning to, yo," the Turk said. "I don't go through the trouble of taking care of her and protecting her to do something stupid."

"You do?" Naomi asked in surprise.

"Sure, yo. Nothing bad has happened to you, right? I'm trying my best to keep harm away from you. Or else some people might kill me. And I told you that I don't want anything to happen to you either, yo. It's just too bad that I can't protect you from yourself," he grinned at her.

She playfully hit him. "You're impossible," she scolded, but in a friendly voice.

"I know, sweetie." He ruffled her hair.

"Well," Yûichi intervened. "I hope you're up to a long night. We have a lot to talk about."

Naomi gave him an apologetic look. "Actually, no. I'm sorry, but I'm dead tired. Last night I went to bed pretty late and just got a couple hours of sleep. And it was a long day."

"What about tomorrow?" he asked. "We could get some drinks and have a little reunion party."

"That would be great!" she exclaimed, then looked at Reno. "If that's okay with you?"

The redhead nodded. "Sounds cool."

"Fine, that's settled, then," Naomi stated. "Then you have to tell me everything you've been up to since you're here."

"Sure thing. It was great to meet you," Yûichi replied, shaking Reno's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Reno turned to leave, but Naomi stopped to hug her friends goodbye and to tell Kôji to behave. It was only now that she noticed someone was missing. "Where's Markus?"

"Oh, he already turned in about half an hour before you came." Yûichi shrugged. "Worked almost non-stop for the past few weeks, you know."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Well, I'm going to talk to him about that tomorrow," she said. With a last wave at her friends she took Reno's hand and they left the theater.


	12. Fight

**_A/N_**_: I finally managed to finish this chapter. I know I took a long time and I'm sorry about that. Just finished it today. Work was boring enough so I was able to get something done.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_Fight_

Naomi felt a little strange as she entered the Battle Square with Reno. Maybe it was because of that Materia stuff which seemed to have connected with her nervous system in some way. Her skin prickled where she had added them to her gloves. She only used a few of the glowing orbs Tifa had given to her before she'd left for the Gold Saucer because Reno had told her that it would be bad for her health if she overdid it.

"Are you okay?" Reno wanted to know. "If not we can skip that and remove the Materia, yo."

"I am," she replied, sounding a bit uncertain. "I want to try it out, at the very least." She unconsciously rubbed the back of her right hand. "Tifa said I might need it."

The redhead ruffled her hair with a sigh. "Just because it's useful doesn't mean it's good for you, yo."

Naomi narrowed her eyes a little. "I'm just not used to it, that's all," she said pointedly. "If it turns out that I can't handle it, then I will quit," she promised. "But I don't want to chicken out before I even tried, you know." She shook her head. "That's definitely not my style."

"Okay." He considered her for a few seconds. "Let's go, then."

They entered the actual arena and Naomi knitted her eyebrows. It was just an empty room – somehow it reminded her of a boxing ring, though it was round – except for a panel right beside the door. She indicated it. "What is that good for?" she asked.

"To set the conditions for the fights against virtual monsters," he replied. "But one has to be careful. The monsters may be actually virtual, but this is advanced technology to make it realistic. So if one of those monsters hits you it will be real damage, yo." He cocked his head. "But you don't have to worry about that now. I think you should start with the Sense Materia. And for that you won't need a real fight, yo. You can practice that with me."

She held her breath for a few seconds and exhaled slowly. "Will it hurt?"

Reno bit back a laugh. "Hurt? No." He grinned at her. "You can rest assured, yo."

Naomi ran a hand through her hair. "Fine." She examined her gloves. "So... how will I get that stuff to work?"

He stepped up to her and took her hand. "There's not really much to it. You just have to concentrate on what you want to do." Then he let go of her hand and walked off a little.

The guitarist cast a doubtful glance at the yellow orb in her glove. Sense... She heaved a deep sigh and clenched her fist before she looked up at the Turk. Trying to focus on using the Materia she found herself somewhat distracted since the prickling on her skin worsened. Naomi narrowed her eyes and tried to get some information but couldn't at first. She was taken aback as she saw a strangely coloured outline surrounding Reno, making her try even harder. When she thought that she finally got the hang of it, some alarm went off. She jumped in shock and looked around thus losing her concentration. "What's going on?"

Within a second the redhead was standing beside her. "I'm not sure... this shouldn't happen, yo." He had to rise his voice because a loud rambling sound was emanating from the walls.

The floor started to shake and a few cracks appeared. Naomi stepped back cautiously, looking in every direction, holding up her fists in defence. One of the cracks opened up wide enough so that she would fall through the ground if she wasn't careful.

Reno laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

Naomi huffed at him and brushed his hand aside.

The Turk shot her a quick glance, not too successful in hiding a smirk. "I can't risk you to get hurt, yo."

The musician raised an eyebrow at that. He seemed to think that she couldn't handle herself and that he had to play her bodyguard. "If the ceiling crashes down on us it won't help to push me aside, you know," she said pointedly.

This wiped the smirk off his face. "I know that," he replied while he observed their surroundings. "I suppose it's better to leave and tell Dio about this."

She bit back a laugh. "Dio..." she repeated mockingly. "What kind of name is that? Does he think he's..." But she was interrupted by a particularly violent shake of the floor that almost sent her crashing to the ground.

But Reno was quick enough to grab her arm and keep her on her feet.

"Thanks," she muttered. "This is just strange. I don't think this happens often, right?"

"Nope," the redheaded Turk said. "Actually, this is the first time as far as I know. Let's get out of here."

As soon as they turned around they faced a strange looking fat penguin with multi-coloured feathers on his head that hopped in their direction. Reno pushed her behind his back, acting as a human shield.

Naomi was slightly taken aback by the sight of that thing. "A penguin?" she asked incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You shouldn't take it too lightly, yo," he warned her. "That is a Head Bomber."

"So, what are we going to do now?" she asked quietly, watching the animal as it hopped from one foot to the other. At least, the rumbling was ceasing now.

"Maybe this is a good opportunity to test some of your Materia, yo," Reno muttered. "Remember to concentrate." He took out his electric mag rod and didn't take his eyes off their enemy. He wanted to be prepared if Naomi's Materia didn't work.

The young woman took a step aside, so Reno wouldn't be in her line of vision. She didn't want to accidentally hit him with some spell. If it worked at all.

"What are you – watch out!" Just when Reno called out his warning, the Head Bomber jumped right at Naomi and it was a pretty close call. She instinctively took a step back as Reno pulled her out of its attacking range at the same time. The penguin thing missed her by mere inches and left a small crater in front of her feet before jumping back. Naomi was astonished and gaped at the hole in the floor.

"I told you to not take it too lightly," Reno said.

Right at this moment the penguin jumped back at them. Reno shoved her aside and instead it was him that was hit by that strange thing, though he tried to avoid it.

"Ow," he muttered as he brushed some invisible dirt off his jacket.

Naomi narrowed her eyes. She took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on the Head Bomber when she felt a wave of heat rising up in her body. It happened almost automatically. She had the feeling as if someone or something guided her as she took a step forward and gave her enemy a piercing glare.

There was another loud rumbling noise, right before a crack in the ceiling opened. It grew wider and wider and then a shower of burning rocks fell out of it, crashing onto that penguin-like thing. A few of them hit it and then it suddenly stopped. The crack closed up. The Head Bomber dropped to the floor and moved no more.

All this happened within very few moments.

"Damn," Reno exclaimed as he turned around to face her, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

Naomi nodded weakly. "I think I overdid it a little, huh?" she smiled faintly and shrugged. Now the rumbling stopped completely, only the alarm still rang through the room. It was true, she did feel a little bit exhausted right now. She hadn't expected the Materia to actually work nor to feel like running a long way in a short amount of time.

"A little?" He laughed humourlessly. "I didn't want you to overexert yourself, yo. I didn't think you'd use any advanced spells. I rather thought you'd start small, yo. I could have taken care of that thing myself, you know."

"You said that this was a good opportunity to see if I can handle this Materia," she snapped at him. "You don't really think that I'd just stand by and watch you get hurt while protecting me, do you?" She took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Whatever spell that was, it just helped, didn't it?" She gave him a disapproving look and stalked off to the exit. But she didn't get far.

Just after she took a few steps some people entered the room, clad in dark clothes. They were masked so she couldn't see their faces. "Stop right there!" one of them called out.

"Hey, I didn't do this, so get out of my way," Naomi hissed through clenched teeth. Hands balled to fists she took another step in their direction.

"Wait!" Reno called out and rushed to her side. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want?"

The men circled them and drew their weapons, mostly swords. One of them motioned to the others to charge. Some of them attacked Reno while the others went up to Naomi. "Don't kill her," the one who seemed to be their leader said. "I don't care what happens to him."

"I'm warning you," Naomi growled. "I'm not in the best mood there is. And I wouldn't dare challenge a Turk."

They didn't heed her warning.

Reno's electric mag rod crackled as he turned on its power. He pushed Naomi back and she saw one of those dark guys leashing his sword. She didn't see if he hit Reno, though.

She felt a hand closing around her arm and she turned her head to see another guy who wanted to pull her away. Anger rose inside her. She wouldn't let them get away with this. "Get your hands off of me!" she said darkly, right before her right fist connected with his chin. At first it didn't seem to have much of an effect but he loosened his grip slightly. Naomi wrenched her arm away and now had both hands to hit the guy. Of course he defended himself and tried his best to get her out of the room. Plus, he wasn't the only one. At least four men had surrounded her. She blew strikes and kicks in every direction, hitting some part of someone every time. They didn't give up.

Naomi heard Reno fighting the other ones, thinking he would do way better than her since he was a fully trained Turk. She didn't need to worry about him. Hopefully.

She was quite surprised when someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground. A deep growl rose inside her throat and she kicked one of the others in the face. This knocked him out. One down.

Throwing her head back she felt it connect with something hard. A crunching noise told her that she had hit his nose. She hoped that it was broken. Her capturer dropped her and she landed painfully on the floor. "Shit," she muttered and pushed her hair out of her face. Someone else tried to grab her but she jumped up and lunged at him, hitting him again and again. He had a hard time defending himself so he didn't have a chance at doing anything to her.

Her attack was cut short, though, as another one of those guys grabbed her neck and pulled her away from his comrade. She choked and thought she was going to suffocate if he didn't let go of her soon. Her hands automatically went up to his to loosen his grip on her throat. Her mind was reeling. What was she supposed to do now? She closed her eyes and tried to not go crazy. Surely, she would get out of this mess alive.

The hands suddenly let go of her and she dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. She heard some shuffling behind her. Someone cursed. Then some more fighting. Then it was silent.

Reno dropped to his knees and grabbed Naomi to pull her up. "Are you okay?" he asked, a slight note of panic in his voice.

The guitarist coughed and nodded. She turned her gaze on him and saw that he had a cut across his cheek. "I'm sorry about that," she whispered, touching the wound with her fingers. She felt dizzy and she watched in astonishment as the wound healed before her very eyes. "Wha..?"

The redhead raised his eyebrows. "Seems like you get the hang of it, yo," he said. "Why didn't you use your Materia before that bloke almost choked you to death?"

Naomi blinked at him. "What? Oh." She put her hand down but Reno grabbed it and put it back on his cheek. "I didn't think about it. I'm still not used to it. And this just happened." She swallowed hard. "One of them still alive?"

Reno's face turned sour. "As soon as they knew they'd lose that fight they disappeared," he growled darkly.

"Cowards," she muttered. "I would have liked to ask them what they wanted."

"Take you away, of course," he replied. "But I don't know why."

"Well, that's what I'd like to know after all." Naomi rolled her eyes, then she smiled weakly. "Thanks for helping me, by the way."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "No one steals anything from a Turk, yo."

She couldn't suppress a laugh, though it made her cough again. "If that's all..." she mocked him with a grin. Then a thought popped up in her mind and her face fell. She tried to push Reno away so she could get up.

"What's up?" he wanted to know as he helped her to get to her feet.

"They seemed to be after me," she noted. "Maybe I'm not the only one. I want to check on the others."

He gave her a questioning look. Then it dawned on him. Her friends. "Yeah, let's look for them, yo." Reno circled his arm around her waist to support her.

"I can walk on my own, you know," she protested but didn't push him away.

"I know that," he chuckled. "But I don't care right now."

"Yeah," Naomi sighed. "I noticed."

"That's settled, then."

In silence they walked out of the arena. When they entered the lobby the receptionist rushed over to them, worry evident on her face. "What happened in there?" she wanted to know. "I noticed the emergency, but I wasn't able to open the doors to the arena."

"So, those guys didn't enter through here?" the Turk asked.

"Which guys?" The recetionist was confused. "No one entered the lobby. The doors shut themselves as soon as the alarm went off."

Naomi raised an eyebrow at that. Now, that was strange. How could they have entered the arena if not through the entrance? She had seen them coming from the door. But she couldn't remember them going _through_ it, now that she thought about it. "Was there any other area having an emergency like this?"

"Not as far as I know. I'm just responsible for the arena."

They thanked her and after assuring that they were okay - though they couldn't say the same about the arena - they left the Battle Square.


End file.
